A Fresh Beginning
by PsychoNinjaWolf
Summary: During Naruto and Sasukes final battle Sasuke promises to return to the village, five years later he is put on a mission with Sakura to be temporary guardians of a little girl, but will it be temporary or dose this mission mean more to them then what they know? 1st story COMPLETE (currently being edited)
1. Chapter 1

**Edited: 12/14/13 (**_just fixing some mistakes_**) **

**Ok this is my first fanfiction so be easy on me please^^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own naruto! **

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><p>The blonde fox vessel looked into the blood red eyes of the raven haired sharingan wielder, both bruised and bloody. Naruto was in his controlled fox form and Sasuke was in his curse marks final stage.<p>

"Sasuke, listen to me!" Naruto shouted spiting up a little blood in the process.

Sasuke had no choice but to hear what he had to say. His muscles wouldn't allow him to move at the moment.

"This isn't Kohonas fault! You can't blame the whole village for something that some old farts decided on years ago!" the blonde stated between breaths.

"Naruto" Sasuke stood up strait and looked deep into azure eyes.

Naruto mimicked him standing as tall as he could "Sasuke".

Sasuke glared at him with eyes so dark they seemed soulless "Shut up." He said blankly as he flared up one last chadori. Naruto glared with equal force as he began using what was left rasingan.

"AHHHHHH" They both began charging at the same time, the same way they did four years ago. This time though, Sasuke didn't pull a cheap trick and they collided with a force so strong it sent shards of electricity exploding like needles, causing deep gashes all over both teens' bodies as a bright light radiated blinding them.

_Damn. . . . I guess this is it. This explosion's going to kill the both of us . . .The Uchiha blood line dies here with me. . . I guess part of me knew it would end like this, but I didn't expect it to be this soon. I feel like I haven't gotten anything accomplished . . . Avenging my clan. . . I killed Itachi only to find out that my revenge wouldn't end there . . . Where would it end, with Konoha? Or would I find out that there was just more? Hmph, as much as I hate to say It, Naruto and the others were right. Revenge is pointless. It's never going to stop. . . Well, I guess it's too late to change anything now._

As the light faded the impact acted as a magnet and slammed their bodies forcefully together, making them both slide to the ground and return to their normal forms.

"Well, I didn't expect that." Naruto stated slightly laughing. The two were lying there inches away from death.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah, Sasuke."

They both stared straight at the sky, neither one able to move a muscle.

"How long do you think we have left asked the dark haired boy.

"It depends," he paused to take a breath before he continued "on how fast Sakura gets here." He finished with a soft smile.

"hmm" he smirked _I guess Sakura isn't as useless as I thought. Maybe it's not too late. Maybe I still have a chance to fix things. To have a new start._

"Thank you, Naruto, You've shown me the light." Sasuke said with sincerity.

"It's about damn time" Naruto replied and tried to laugh but ended up coughing up blood in the process.

"If both of us live I promise I'll return to Kohoha willingly and take whatever punishment the Hokage has in store for me." The raven haired boy said as he slowly started to drift into unconsciousness.

Naruto shot him one of his famous grins "I'm gonna hold you too that." Then he fell unconscious.

The last thing Sasuke saw before he fallowed Naruto was a flash of pink. _Sakura?_

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><p>"I can sense there chakra, they're not too much farther away." A silver haired ninja said to his female companion.<p>

"I know. I sense it too. I just hope we make it in time" The pink headed ninja replied with worry clear in her voice.

"Sakura if Naruto's dead we have to finish off Sasuke. Do you think you can handle that?" He asked, knowing her willingness to help Sasuke could sometimes cloud her judgment.

Sakura was hesitant at first but replied with a yes. She didn't want to have to think of the possibility that Naruto was dead, or about having to kill the man she once loved.

A burst of light illuminated the whole forest, causing the two to stop and shield their eyes from its blinding power.

"Kakashi-sensei that has to be them, We better hurry." She looked at him when the light died down. He gave her a nod and they both took off with equal speed.

After a few minutes they came to a clearing, and saw the source of the exploding light. Two boys lie side by side in the middle of the battle field. Sakura ran and knelt down in between them taking two fingers from each hand to check for any sign of life.

"Their pulses are faint but they're both still alive. They've lost a lot of blood so we don't have much time. I'll try to heal their major wounds so they don't bleed to death before we get them back to Kohona" She said as she removed her hands and started healing Naruto who seemed to be the farthest gone.

"Send a massage to Tsunade, explain the situation and tell her to prepare a room and get a staff ready." The pink kanoichi ordered moving quickly from Naruto to Sasuke.

"Right" Kakashi replied, then summoned a messenger bird to relay the info Sakura had just given him to the Hokage.

"Kakshi, grab Naruto, I've got Sasuke. We have hurry I don't know how much longer they're going live if we don't."

Kakashi did as he was told, picking up Naruto bridle style. Sakura carried Sasuke the same way as they headed for the Konoha hospital as quickly as they could.

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><p>Tsunade sat at her desk, glaring at a new stack of papers that was just brought in by Shizune. Oh how she hated paper work. It was getting late and filing out report after report was defiantly NOT how she wanted to spend her night. Shizune had snuck in during one of her naps and hid all of <em>her<em> hidden sake. So, now she had no choice but do all this damn paper work.

"Damn you Shizune" she whispered quietly to herself. Then all of a sudden a bird flew through her window and onto her desk, sending the huge pail of papers on her deck pummeling to the floor. Paper scattered everywhere.

The surprise on her face vanished as quickly as it came and was replaced with a look of hatred towards the bird. "What the hell!" She grabbed the poor unsuspecting bird by the neck and began shaking it violently.

"You dumbass excuse for a bird! Do you have any idea how long it's gonna take to-"in the middle of her ranting she noticed the message attached to the poor birds dangling leg.

She stopped to remove the piece of paper then slung the bird over her shoulder. The bird laded on the floor and did a dizzy dance before it tried to fly out the window. After a few attempts it finally made it to safety.

The blonde unrolled the paper and read over it with shock. "Shizune!" she shouted as she headed out of her office.

Said person meet her in the hallway. "Tsunade-sama, what is it?" she asked with worry.

"Follow me!" Tsunade replied handing the sheet of paper to her. Shizune looked at the paper with surprise and followed the busty blonde all the way to the hospital.

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><p>Finally after six long hours of surgery, Naruto and Sasuke were stabilized, cleaned up, separated in two different rooms, and on their way to recovery. Tsunade and Sakura walked together to the waiting area where Kakashi was made to stay while they had worked on the two boys. They both sat down in two chairs across from Kakashi. They were covered in blood, exhausted, and had a large amount of chakra depleted from the long hours of work.<p>

"Well?" Kakashi started.

"They're both gonna make it" Sakura shot a quick smile at her former teacher, but then switched to her more serious side.

"So what are we going to do about Sasuke?" She asked, the question directed to the blonde beside her but her eyes focused on floor below.

The Hokage sighed. "I have no clue." She admitted, sinking deeper into her chair.

"Right now the only thing I know to do is to keep the Uchiha's location top secret. We can't let the whole world know that we're harboring a fugitive. I've already briefed the entire medial staff and the guards that were patrolling the gates when you had arrived. Considering the time, I doubt anyone else had seen you enter the village. The rest we'll figure out when the Uchiha wakes up, I guess I'll base the rest of my decision on his reaction to being in the village." She stood up and the other two followed suit.

"Kakashi, I have another mission for you, but it can wait a few day's" She gave the silver haired man a wink, and on that note he disappeared before she could change her mind. She then looked at her pink haired student.

They smiled at each other for a minute before Tsunade started. "Sakura, go home, clean up, and rest. For the next week or so I want you to monitor the both of them. You will be the only nurse assigned, so I want daily reports on their recovery."

She then gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but I need you to stay in Sasuke's room as much as possible, only leave to check on Naruto or to give me reports."

The rosette gave her sensei a knowing look. "I understand Tsunade-sama. I'm the only one here besides Naruto who would stand a chance against Sasuke. If he wakes up hostel someone needs to be there to retain him."

Tsunade nodded. "Exactly"

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><p>A few days later, Sasuke had awoken to something bright. As he tried to open his eyes and adjust to the new light source, he remembered the events that took place before he went unconscious. His muscles were stiff and sore as he tried to move his arms and legs but they felt restrained.<p>

Finally adjusting to the light, he looked down to see that his wrists and ankles were bound to the bed by chakra ropes. He sighed then looked towards the window. Emerald green eyes meet with his charcoal ones. They held no fear whatsoever in them, just worry and curiosity.

This amused Sasuke, what reason does she have not to fear him? Then he remembered he was tied to a bed, and thinking of Sakura's younger self made _him_ worry a little. He chose then to look away.

"How's Naruto?" He said, breaking the silence.

She looked at him skeptically before answering his question. "He'll live, he's still unconscious but he's making a full recovery."

She was confused as hell. He wasn't threating her, making demands, trying to escape, or anything. He actually looked relieved to hear the news about Naruto.

"That's good" the raven haired man said as he sighed in relief. That, just confused her further. Did she hear him wrong? Or had he gone crazy?

She carefully walked over to him and placed the back of her hand against his forehead. He looked at her with a raised brow.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Nothing" She lied as she removed her hand. Hmm, he didn't have a fever.

"Are you ok?" she decided to ask after a long pause.

"I'm fine, now untie me." Ahh, there was the demand she was expecting. Maybe the world wasn't ending after all.

"No" she said simply.

He glared at her. How dare her tell him no.

"Why not?" he asked, still glaring diggers at her.

"Umm let's see," she stared up at the ceiling and put a finger on her chin.

"One" She looked at him and held her hand to the side using the finger she had on her chin to symbolize a number one. "You're a missing-nin," She continued "Two," she held up another finger "you're an enemy, Three," she held up another "You tried to kill Naruto and four," she held up a fourth finger "I don't want to," she finished with a shrug and smiled at him before she brought her hand down.

He stared at her like she had just sprouted a second head. Then is shocked expression turned to a smirk. If she wasn't going to let him go at least he can pull her chain a little bit, after all he has to start fresh somehow, might as well be with her.

"Well, I had promised Naruto that if we both lived I'd stay in the village, but now I think I've changed my mind." He said as he casually started to look around the room.

The room was empty except for them. It was bright with the light shining through the open window, a breeze of fresh air filled his lungs. It looked about noon. The bed next to him was empty but it looked as though it had been slept in. The person either had just left or it had been Sakura. He assumed it was her, after all they wouldn't leave a missing S-class criminal in a room alone. Hell, he's surprised he hadn't woken up in a prison cell.

After that last statement the Sakura's' eyes lit up and she broke into a huge smile. "You're really gonna stay in the village?"

"I was thinking about it." He said as his eye's returned to her. Her eyes were a beautiful bright green compared to the dull ones she had when he had first woken up. He could see the sheer happiness she was feeling.

"Well then" She was catching on that he was playing with her, which made her even happier. "I guess, since you've changed your mind," she gave him an evil smirk. "I'll just have to treat you like any other S-Class missing ninja. I think we have some extra strait jackets in the closet. Let me go check." But before she could head over there he interrupted.

"Hn, I'd like to see you try to get me into one of those things." He gave her a small smile. She smiled back and walked over to his bed side and started undoing the chakra ropes only leaving the one on his right hand.

"I'm sorry, but I have to leave at least one, its protocol." She gave him an apologetic look.

"It's ok, I understand" he replayed pushing the button on the bed so he can sit up more. He winced at the pain. His whole body ached.

"So . . . you're really staying?" She said hopefully, walking over and sitting on his bedside.

"Yeah, Naruto finally beat some sense into me." He smiled softly at her but then a frown graced his lips.

"Sakura . . . I'm sorry for all the pain I've cause you, Naruto, and Kakashi . . . I was so blinded by Itachi's blood that I became just like him." He looked at her, his eyes filled with pain and regret.

"Sasuke . . . It's ok . . . your back now, that's all that matters." She smiled at him with tear filled eyes and gave him a hug.

"It's time to start fresh, and I'll take whatever punishment this village has for me." He returned the hug with one arm.

"I have to go report to Lady Tsunade and check on Naruto. I'll return as soon as I'm finished." Sakura told him as they broke apart. He gave a nod and watched her walk out the door. He was defiantly glad to be back.

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><p><strong>OK, first fic, let me know what you think. If I continue this it will take place five years later, it will be SasuSaku based and the other miner pairings will be NaruHinNejiTen/ShikaIno. I'm sorry for any misspellings and grammar (I have autocorrect but sometimes it just makes things worse). If I spell anything wrong please let me know so I can fix it later.**

**Thank you so much ~ PhycoNinjaWolf**


	2. Chapter 2

**Edited: 12/14/13 (**_again, just fixing up some mistakes_**) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own Tsuki, Kage, and Kurochi.**

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><p><strong><em><span>Chapter 2<span>_**

Five years have pasted sense Sasuke's return. The village was a little bit skeptical about letting him back at first, but during the war he proved his loyalties by helping Naruto and the others defeat Madara, Kobuto, and the rest of their army. He served his time on probation, two whole years of no ninja activity. That meant no missions, no rank changes, and the only time he was allowed to use chakra was if he was training with Naruto, Sakura, or Kakashi.

Now Sasuke and Sakura are both ANBU on a squad with Neji and Tenten, Naruto is the Hokage-in-training, and the rest of the rookie 9 and Guy's team are either Jounin or ANBU.

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><p>Four ANBU members stood quietly in the Hokage's office awaiting instructions for their next mission.<p>

"Alright" said Hokage walked into the office the ninja were waiting in.

"Sorry I'm late, training Naruto to be Hokage is proving to be a bigger bitch than I thought."

"It's ok sensei we all know how stubborn Naruto can be." Sakura said, pulling down her cat mask.

"And pigheaded." Tenten added following suit, pulling on her Panda-like mask.

"He's such a dope." Yes, even Sasuke had to add a comment regarding everyone's favorite Bijuu, pulling down a mask similar to a wolf.

"But none of us would be here today if it wasn't for that stubborn pigheaded dope" Neji pointed out pulling on a bird-like mask.

They all smiled under their masks and nodded, except for Tsunade who wasn't wearing one. The Blonde walked over and sat down behind her desk. Picking up a few papers and reading them carefully.

"Alright, down to business." She said as she put the papers back on her desk and looked at the group sternly.

"This is an S-Rank scouting mission. There's a small village on the outskirts of the sound village. This village was destroyed earlier today by a group of rouge ninjas. There were reports of them searching for something but no one seems to know what it is. I want to know what that something is, so you four are to go to the village and look for anything out of place, survivors, scrolls, relics, anything that looks suspicious. Report back quickly. You are dismissed." She finished and the four ninjas quickly exited out the window.

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><p>When they arrived at the village it was almost completely burnt to the ground. The nauseating sent of burnt flesh filled the air. Houses crumbling, ashes still blowing, most of the fire was put out but there were still a few flames flickering about.<p>

"Ugh, that smell is awful." The panda said as soon as they had stopped at the edge of the village.

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's hurry and get this over with"

"I doubt there are any survivors" Sasuke said crossing his arms and surveyed what he could see of the land.

Neji stepped forward and turned to his three team mates. "Alright, let's split up, Sasuke you and Sakura take the east and head south, Tenten and I will take the west and head south also. When we meet up we will come back up the middle. We can cover more ground that way."

"Right" they said together then disbanded the two groups headed in opposite directions.

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><p>Sakura and Sasuke walked side by side scanning the area around them. Some building frames still stood as proud as the day they were put up, but others couldn't hold the weight of the burning houses around them, causing heaps of rubble to scatter the ground. The sun was beginning to set, leaving a soft glow around the burning amber.<p>

"Tsunade puts us on the worst missions." Sakura complained as she pulled up her mask and gave him a sad look.

Sasuke pulled his up also and gave her a sympathetic look. "It's her job."

"I know." The pink haired ANBU sighed.

"Hey, what's that?"

Sasuke stopped and looked in her line of view. There was a statue standing almost untouched among the embers. It was a wolf standing at about 4 feet, it looked to be pure gold and it shown in the light of the sinking sun. It was in a sitting position as if it were guarding something sacred and cherished.

"I wonder why they didn't take that, it looks valuable." The cat began walking in its direction.

Sasuke quickly followed. "I don't know."

As they drew closer the jade eyes of the statue looked as if they were staring into their souls. When they approached it Sakura placed a hand on the top of its head. As soon as her fingers touched the warm metal it began to glow. Sasuke, out of instinct, grabbed her arm and pulled her away from it. As they stared, the glow died down to reveal a sleek black wolf with piercing emerald eyes.

When the wolf stood Sasuke pulled Sakura behind him and reach for a kunai. The beast just took a few steps back reviling a hidden door and lay behind it.

"Sasuke its ok, it's not going to hurt us."

Sasuke gave her a skeptical look but put his kunai away. "Are you sure, it looks dangerous."

"Yeah" she put a hand on his shoulder then walked past him to the door.

"Sakura be careful." He said quickly catching up to her.

She bowed her head at the wolf, who in turn gave her a nod with his own. She pulled the floor door open and turned to look at Sasuke.

"Come on." She waved her hand and signaled him to follow and began climbing the ladder.

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><p>"This is a pointless mission, this place is completely destroyed! I don't think there's anything left." Tenten exclaimed turning over a piece of charred wood.<p>

"Oh I think I found something." She quickly added picking up a necklace that was under the wood she had just flipped over. It was a made out of gold and had a bright emerald jewel in the center.

"What is it?" her male companion asked deactivating his byakugan, and began to walk towards her. She turned around and held the necklace up so he could see it.

"A necklace." She answered as he came to stand behind her.

Out of the corner of Neji's eye he saw something black. They quickly turned around to look at the intruder. A midnight black wolf stood staring at them. Neji quickly drew his kunai and aimed for the beasts head. The wolf simply moved his head to the side as the knife whizzed by only cutting a stand of fur.

"What the hell?" Neji said as they both stared at the wolf in shock.

The wolf's jade eyes began to glow with the emerald pendent in the girl's hand. Tenten saw this and gave the wolf an understanding look under her mask.

"Ah, this is yours" She said raising her mask to meet the wolf face to face.

The black beast bowed her head and slowly walked to the girl. She raised her head and Tenten gently placed the pendent around her neck. The wolf gave her another bow before it took off in the direction it had came from.

"That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my entire life." Tenten said looking in the direction the wolf had gone.

"Yeah" he agreed "It's getting dark we better hurry."

"I just hope Sakura and Sasuke had better luck than we did." Tenten stated pulling her mask back on and followed Neji to their destination.

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><p>They began to look around once they got to the bottom of the latter. The hidden room looked to be some kind of shrine. There were carvings and paintings all over the walls. Huge statues and relics lined the halls they were walking through.<p>

"It looks like a shrine for some kind of protector. Do you think that wolf was this village's guardian?" Sakura said walking alongside a weary Sasuke.

"If so, why didn't he protect it from those rouge ninja?" The raven haired boy asked raising a brow.

Sakura shrugged "Maybe it tried but they overpowered it and this was the only thing it could protect."

The long hall finally ended and they walked into a room with a statue identical but twice the size as the one outside.

"Do you here that?" Sasuke asked reaching for his kunai for the second time that night.

"Yeah, it sounds like someone crying." Sakura replied slowly walking to the statue.

The sound was coming from behind it, so she steadily crept around the side. What she saw surprised her. It was a little raven haired girl sitting in the fetal position crying softly with her face berried in her arms.

"Hey, are you ok?" Sakura asked softly.

The little girl raised her tear filled eyes to peek at the new stranger.

Just one look at the pink haired woman in front her and she instantly knew she was no longer in danger.

"My knee hurts." The little girl replied shaking her head no.

"Why don't you come out of there and let me take a look at it." Sakura told her trying to coax her out of her hiding spot.

The little girl slowly stood up, wiping the tears from her face and limped over to the kunoichi. Sakura knelt down and motioned for the girl to sit in front of her. The raven haired girl complied and pulled up her bloody shorts past her knee, reviling a small gash. From the bloody rip in the shorts, it looked as if she had fallen on some pieces of glass.

"Oh, that looks pretty nasty." The pink headed ninja commented with knitted brows.

"Can you make it better?" the little girl asked, a small tear running down her cheek.

Sakura gave her a nod and got in her medical pouch for some alcohol swabs and a cotton ball.

"This is going to sting a little but I have to clean it so it won't hurt worse, ok." The medic softly said as she began gently rubbing the swab around the open cut. The small child sniffled and replied with a nod.

As Sakura started cleaning the cut the little girl winced and clutched the sides of her shorts with her tiny hands. When the medic had finished cleaning the small wound the girl gave a sigh of relief. Sakura dabbed around the cut with the cotton ball then quickly put the used equipment back in her pouch. She then pumped some chakra into her hand giving it a green glow and placed it over the girl's knee. Then the cut completely vanished only leaving behind a small scar.

"Wow, that was cool!" The little girl exclaimed as she leapt up to give the pink haired ninja a hug. Sakura smiled as she returned the child's hug.

Sasuke watched the whole scene from a distance. He had stayed at the door entrance while she had investigated the source of the strange noise. It turned out to be a small child, it's a good thing he let Sakura go because if he had went the girl would be trying to run, no matter how much her leg hurt. He was never any good with children. He gave a sigh and started walking towards the two.

The little girl saw the raven haired man approaching them and quickly broke from their hug. Sakura gave the child a confused look and then looked behind her. She then returned her gaze to the girl

"Don't worry he's my friend." Sakura said smiling at the dark headed girl.

"My name is Sakura Haruno and this is Sasuke Uchiha. What's your name?" The little girl smiled brightly "Tsuki Kuroyuki"

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think and I promise it won't get to weird lol<strong>

**Oh and a big thank you to kitten9322 and DawnCervantes who were my first reviewers. thank you so much for the inspiration ;)**

**~PhychoNinjaWolf**


	3. Chapter 3

**Edited: 12/14/13 (**_just fixing it up a bit_**) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own Tsuki, Kage, and Kurochi.**

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><p><strong><em><span>Chapter 3<span>_**

"So what are you doing here all by yourself?" Sakura asked as she stood up beside the raven haired boy.

"Kage told me to hide." The little girl started. "He said that the village was doing bad things and they had to be punished." The raven haired child had a sad look on her face.

They both looked at her with confusion written all over their faces.

"Kage!" the little girl called and ran past her two new friends. They turned to see her ran up and hug the wolf they had met at the entrance. The beast just kept his emerald eye's fixed on the two ninja before them.

Sakura and Sasuke gave each other a glance, both realizing at the same time. It wasn't rouge ninja that destroyed the village it was this wolf. That's why the statue and this shrine were untouched. He must have some connection to this girl to have protected only her. But, were _they_ in danger? Neither of them knew for sure.

"Where's Kurochi?" the child asked as she broke the hug and looked into the wolf's dark green eyes. The beast took his lingering eye's away from there visitors and focused on the child in front of him.

"She will be here shortly." He told the child with a gentle look.

Sakura and Sasuke's jaws dropped to the floor anime style. Did they seriously just her that wolf talk? After they recovered Sakura leaned over closer to her companion

"Sasuke? Did you hear that wolf speak to Tsuki?" She softy whispered with a confused expression.

"Yes" he replied with equal confusion. "

Good then I haven't completely lost it." The medic sighed with relief.

After their hushed conversation they noticed another, slightly smaller, wolf walk in the doorway behind the first one. It looked similar to the other, the only difference being the size, this one was obviously female, and had necklace that hung around its neck like a collar.

"Kurochi!" The little girl shouted and ran to the other beast. She latched on and gave her a big hug. Unlike the first one this one seemed to nuzzle into the hug rather than just stand there.

"Kurochi" Kage, the first wolf, said turning to the other gaining their attention.

"Take Tsuki to the entrance. I need to speak with these two in private." Breaking from the little girls hug the she gave him an understanding nod.

"Come on Tsuki let's wait for your new friends at the entrance." She spoke softly to the child.

"Ok, I'll race you!" The girl said with excitement in her voice.

"Last one there stinky mutt." The wolf said as they stared to run down the hallway giggling like little children.

After the two girls disappeared down the hall, the wolf focused his attention back on the two ninja in front of him, all tree turning serious.

"It was you who destroyed this village." Sasuke stated.

"But why?" His partner added.

The wolf glared diggers at the two. "They were going to kill her." He spat out with a low growl.

"Why would a whole village want to kill one girl?" Sasuke asked calmly slightly glaring back at the beast. The wolf, closing his eyes to calm down, took a deep breath then exhaled reopening his eyes.

"Let me explain everything." The wolf said standing proud. "We are Animaru, an ancient clan on the verge of extinction, the last of us residing in an almost hidden area on the outskirts of the sound village. Unfortunately, it was discovered and attacked. The only survivor was Tsuki's mother. She was pregnant with her at the time and took refuge in this pathetic village.

"Kurochi and I were secretly sent by our ancestors to protect the two. Those foolish villagers thought we were here to protect them because we only showed ourselves when fighting off there enemy. The imbeciles used their money and resources to build this shrine. They thought if they prayed regularly then we would continue to protect them, but when Tsuki was four her mother died from a rare disease that spread throughout the village, they could not afford a cure. Half the village died so they blamed us. Tsuki was orphaned and we secretly took care of her here." The wolf sighed and sat down on the cold floor. The two ninjas followed, sitting side by side cross-legged in front of the wolf.

"So is that why the villagers wanted to kill her, they found out you were only protecting her?" Sakura asked with interest.

"No. You see, we are what you call shape-shifters. We are born in human form but are able to transform once we are of age. Usually around 18 to 20 years, in order to control an adult form wolf. Somehow though, a teasing bully triggered Tsuki's transformation early," He looked to the floor with a sad expression, "A young child cannot control an adult wolf form, especially when in rage. Luckily, we were able to control her and she doesn't remember a thing but the village saw her as a threat. I had to protect her no matter what, so I had Kurochi destroy the village while I protected the child." He finished giving them a serious look.

"So why are you telling us this?" The sharingan wielder asked.

"It was fate that the two of you found my statue." He gave them a wolfish smirk before he got serious again.

"I need to ask a favor." He asked, he could see their souls, they held dark pasts but they were trustworthy.

"Can you to take her to your village." He asked softly.

"Yes/No" They both answered at the same time. They glared at each other for a moment then Sakura spoke.

"Will you excuse us for a moment?" She said sweetly giving the wolf a smile. She grabbed Sasuke's hand and stood up walking to the opposite side of the room, dragging him with her.

"She's just a child!" Sakura yelled in a hushed tone once they were out of ear shot.

"Yeah, a child that transforms into a blood thirsty demon!" He argued with an equally hushed yell.

"Oh, and your one to talk!" She said giving him a death glare. Sasuke averted his gaze to the ground.

To anyone else it would look like he was just angrily looking at a rock, but Sakura could see the pain and regret that filled his eyes. Sakura immediately regretting her comment gave him a sad look.

"Sasuke I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it."

He looked her in the eye and gave her a half smile, which was very uncharacteristic of him. "I know Sakura."

She sadly smiled back at him. "Sasuke you of all people should know what this girl is going through. She needs a home, a family, friends, people she can trust. . . Sasuke, she needs us, we can't just leave her here." She gave him a pleading look.

He sighed and looked over to the wolf across the room. The animal was staring at the ground, looking like he was in deep thought.

"Alright, she can come with us." He looked back to her, her eyes gleaming with joy.

"Thank you" she smiled brightly and ran back to the wolf, Sasuke followed quickly behind her.

When they got to him they sat back in the position they were previously in.

"So what's the verdict?" The wolf asked once they were positioned.

"Yes" Sakura replied joyfully.

"What are the odds of her transforming before she's of age again?" Sasuke asked giving the slick wolf a serious look and earning a slight glare from Sakura.

"One to ten, but you don't have to worry, we will be returning to the heavens but we will constantly be looking after her and _will_ intervene if necessary. We will also return once she is of age to teach her everything she needs to know about her Animaru abilities." The wolf answered him truthfully.

"Alright then, it's agreed, she comes with us, I just have one question." Sakura started with a concerned expression.

The wolf urged her to go on. "Our village is a village of ninja, where the population is only 1/3 civilian. The ninja influents are great. Do you want us to keep her from it?"

The wolf shook his head, no. "Do not hide it from her, if she wants, let her embrace it, just don't force her into it. Let her make her own decisions."

Sakura smiled and nodded in agreement. "Don't worry we will protect her with our lives." She finished with a smile and stood to her feet.

The two boys followed and they silently walked down the hall, making their way back to the entrance.

* * *

><p>"Ha ha, Kurochi you're a stinky mutt." The child giggled in between breaths.<p>

"I guess I am." The wolf laughed giving the girl a soft loving look. Losing on purpose for the girl's satisfaction, the wolf was hardy out of breath.

"Tsuki, do you like Sakura and Sasuke?" The wolf asked sincerely. She wasn't about to leave the child with someone she didn't like. She would rather forget the entire plan and find someone else if that were the case.

"Yeah!" The girl said loudly with a huge grin. This made the wolf smile.

"How would you like to go home with them?" She asked the girl hoping for a positive response. The child's grin just got bigger.

"Yeah, that would be awesome!" She shouted making the wolf laugh even more. She had never seen the girl this excited before.

"Well then you can go with them on one condition." The beast said with a smirk.

"What?" the girl asked anxiously.

"You ask them nicely if you can go and be on your best behavior." She finished giving the girl astern look.

The girl then pouted and crossed her arms, "That's not fair you said one but that's two."

That comment made the wolf's stern façade falter into a small smile. That wasn't the answer she had expected. "Well, two conditions then."

The girl looked like she was in deep thought for a few moments. She was looking to the ceiling and tapping her chin with her finger. Then she looked at the wolf with a grin. "Ok I think I can handle that." Tsuki said. The wolf smiled and licked her cheek, which made the girl giggle and hug her furry friend.

* * *

><p>Finally the trio made it down the long hall to the entrance where Tsuki and Kurochi were waiting. The scene was quit cute. Kurochi was lying down on the ground with Tsuki curled up beside her fast asleep. Kurochi was immediately aware of their presence and looked up to see them approaching.<p>

Kage went straight to her and nuzzled her cheek with his. "They've agreed to take Tsuki to their village." He said breaking contact.

She smiled "That's great." She replied looking at the girl that was cuddled up to her side.

"Do you want to wake her up?" She asked looking back at Kage.

"Not really." He replied giving her a blank expression earning him a glare.

"Alright fine." He said as he walked over and nudged the girl with his nose. She didn't budge so he started licking her face.

"Alright I'm up." She said groggily pushing his face away. She slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked around and saw that Sakura and Sasuke were standing in front of her. Her excitement chased the sleep away and she ran and latched onto Sakura's leg as she looked up at the woman with pleading eyes.

"Sakura can I home with you, pleeeeease." She asked stretching the E like a child begging for a cookie.

"Sure." Sakura replied smiling at the child.

"Yes" The kid said as she gave a victory dance. This even made the Uchiha Smirk.

Kurochi got up and went to sit next to Kage. The both shared a loving glance before Tsuki ran to give them both a death hug.

"Are you coming too?" She smiled and asked the two wolves as she stepped back from the hug. Her smile fell when the wolves sadly shook their heads 'no'.

"Why not?" She said as tears started to fall down her little cheeks.

"Honey, we can't, Kage and I have to return back to our home. But don't worry we will always be with you." The Female wolf said sadly as she licked the salty tears from the child's face.

"How can you be with me when you're leaving?" The girl sobbed. Kage gave her a sad smile. "Just because were leaving physically doesn't mean we won't be with you spiritually. We will always be watching you from above." Kage said.

"And whenever you need us we'll be there ok." Kurochi finished. The little girl dried her eyes and smiled sadly.

"Promise?" She asked the two.

"Promise." They replied in unison. Her smile brightened as she gave the two another bone crushing hug.

"I'll miss you." She said as they broke apart.

"Well miss you too sweetheart." Kurochi said with a smile.

"Are you ready to go?" Sakura walked up behind her and asked. Tsuki gave her a Naruto worthy Grin.

"Yep." Then she pleadingly looked over at Sasuke who had been quite the whole time.

"Sasuke can you give me a piggyback ride?" Sasuke looked at her blankly

"No." He flatly stated gaining glares from everyone in the room. He gave a low sigh "Sure, why not." He quickly changed his answer.

She then happily pranced over to the raven haired boy. He bent down while she crawled onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and legs around his waist. He put his arms under her legs to keep her from falling off. She then looked deep into Kage's eyes, both their eyes shown a brilliant green as she quickly feel back to sleep.

"Why did you do that?" Sasuke asked blankly.

"So she doesn't have to see the village above." He stated looking to the ladder behind them. He gave an understanding nod and headed for the ladder.

After they said their goodbyes the two headed for the south of the destroyed village as the two wolves walked in the opposite direction slowly fading away.

* * *

><p>"Were the hell are those two?" Tenten growled looking over to her partner who was silently leaning against a nearby tree. They were at the end of the village near the edge of the forest waiting for their other teammates to arrive.<p>

"I'm sure they're on their way." Neji said behind his mask. They both looked up ahead as they heard footsteps approaching. They immediately recognized the chakra signatures. Tenten sighed with relief.

"Were have you too been?" She raised her mask as she approached the two.

"Did you find anything?" Neji asked pull up his mask also and followed his partner to their teammates.

"You tell me." Sasuke said once they were a few feet apart and could see each other clearly in the dark night. That's when they noticed a small child on Sasuke's back.

"Aw she's so cute." Tenten said getting a better look at the kid.

"I know right." Sakura said looking at the two beside her.

"Where did you find her? What's her name?" The panda asked her pink haired teammate.

"We'll explain everything on our way back to the village ok." They all nodded and headed back to their home.

* * *

><p>Four ninja, one Hokage, and a little girl were all gathered in Tsunade's office the next morning. Sakura had told the story twice, and still everyone was confused, except for Sasuke who was with her the whole time.<p>

Tsunade sat at her desk with her fingers intertwined in front of her thinking about what do make of the situation. She had sent them on a mission hoping to gain entail and they had returned home another mouth to feed. Well, this mouth did belong to the last member of an ancient clan, that would give the village an upper hand in the future, but for now it made them a target. She let out a sigh as she came to a decision.

"Tenten, Neji you are dismissed I wish to speak with these three in private." They gave a nod and exited out the sliding doors. "Alright, if what you tell me is true, we have a target on our backs. So what I'm going to do, is change the story, the girls name, and put her in your temporary custody until I come up with something else."

She sighed deeply and continued. "I sent you to check on a village that was attacked by rouge ninja, you found the girl hiding in the basement of one of the buildings. She was the only survivor you found, and no one other than us, Naruto, and the other ANBU will know the real story. Is that understood?" They all nodded in response.

"So what's my name?" The little girl asked innocently, not really understanding the whole conversation.

Tsunade smiled at the child. "You pick, but you can keep your first name Tsuki ok."

Tsuki thought long and hard before she smiled back and asked "Tsuki Kurokage?"

Sakura gave the girl a knowing smile "That sounds wonderful." Tsunade was a little confused but agreed and dismissed them anyway.

* * *

><p>"I'm hungry." The girl stated as they walked out of the Hokage mansion and down the street.<p>

"How about we stop at Ichiraku's on our way home?" Sakura asked putting her hands on her knees and bending to eye level with the girl. The girl gave her a confused look.

"What's Icharuku's" the child said trying to pronounce the name but failing miserably.

"It's a ramen shop." Sasuke stated blankly.

"What's ramen?" the girl asked pronouncing this one right but still confused.

Sakura sat up and laughed looking at Sasuke. "If Naruto were here he would have had a heart attack." Sasuke smirked at her knowing that it was the truth.

"Come on, you'll like it." Sakura said grabbing the child's hand.

Once they got there they noticed that everyone's favorite ramen loving orange wearing ninja was there also, already on his third bowl.

"Hey Naruto." Sakura said as they approached the blonde ninja.

"Hey Sakur-"Naruto stopped as soon as he noticed the girl holding Sakura's hand. He saw the raven hair and emerald eyes of the child and his face fail into a panic. "SAKURA WHEN DID YOU AND SASUKE HAVE A KID!" Naruto shouted standing from his set pointing at the child.

"YOU IDIOT SASUKE AND I AREN'T EVEN TOGETHER!" Sakura yelled letting go of the girls hand and hitting the loud ninja upside the head. Naruto grabbed the growing knot on his head.

"How was I supposed to know?" he whimpered as he sat back down.

Sasuke took the seat next to Naruto, Sakura sat next to Sasuke and Tsuki sat at the end next to Sakura.

"So who is she?" The fox said once everyone was seated.

"A little girl we found on our last mission." Sasuke said after he ordered his food.

"Tsuki this is Naruto, our loud obnoxious friend." Sakura said trying to give a normal interdiction then ordering their food.

"Hi" Tsuki leaned over the counter and waved at him. Naruto grinned and waved back.

"NARUTO GIT YOUR ASS BACK HERE. THE FASTER YOU FINISH YOU TRAINING THE SOONER I'M FREE FROM ALL THIS DAMN PAPER WORK!" Tsunade yelled coming up from behind and to grab the said boy by the collar. She dragged him in the direction of the Hokage mansion.

"NO TSUNADE I NEED A BREAK!" He shouted as he was being dragged.

"TOUGH SHIT!" She replied as they walked out of sight.

Sakura sighed and looked at the girl who was looking in the direction that Naruto and Tsunade disappeared in. "Welcome to our crazy dysfunctional family." She smiled.

The girl smiled back then realization hit the pink ninja and she turned to her male companion. "Were are we staying?"

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it took so long but I wanted to make it longer and get Tsuki's background out of the way, and I thought that was a good place to end it.<strong>

**Again a special thanks to DawnCervantes and kitten9322 for reviewing. ^^ I appreciate the ideas, and I hope you all like it.**

**P.S Let me know of any grammatical and spelling errors please :)**

_**~PychoNinjaWolf**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Edited: 12/14/13 (**_brushing it up a bit_**) **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. Just the story line, Tsuki, Kage, and Kurochi (which will appear again in later chapters ;) .**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Hn, good question, neither one of our apartments are big enough to house three people." Sasuke said as there food was served.

"Well we can't afford to buy a house just for this occasion. We don't even know how long we'll be living together." Sakura said and gave a sad look over to Tsuki who was oblivious to the conversation. Since the food was brought out, she had been curiously poking it with her chopsticks.

This caused Sakura to giggle at the poor child. "Try it, it's really good. I promise." The pink haired ninja told the child as she began to demonstrate, picking up her chopsticks and taking a bite.

The poor girl looked scared at first, but gently took a bite anyway. Her scared expression soon turned to an excited on. "This is the best food I've ever tasted!'' She exclaimed as she began to woof it down Naruto style.

"Oh no, we've got another Naruto." Sakura turned to Sasuke and laughed.

Sasuke smirked "Let's just hope she doesn't start wearing orange jumpsuits." They both mentally cringed, as the image of Naruto and Tsuki dressed alike scarfing down fifteen bowls of ramen popped into their heads.

"Can I have more?" Tsuki asked holding out her bowl.

"Sure" Sakura said as Ayame took the bowl from the child and replaced it with a full one.

"So have you thought of a place to stay yet?" She asked her partner as she took another bite of her ramen.

"How about the Uchiha Mansion, it's fully repaired and there's plenty of room for all of us. I had been planing to permanently move back into it anyway." Sasuke replied.

"I forgot about that, it's perfect." The pink haired medic stated as she finished her last little bit of ramen.

"Ugh I'm stuffed, can we go home now?" The child asked, pushing her empty bowl as far away as possible.

"Sure, but we have to make a few stops along the way, alright?" Sakura said getting up from the stool. The other two followed and the girl gave her a nod.

"First we have to get you some new cloths, then we have to stop at both of our apartments to get our things, and I guess sinse we've already eaten we can save the grocery shopping for tomorrow." She finished and looked to Sasuke who gave her an approving nod.

* * *

><p>Shopping for her cloths was easy, they got out pretty quick and Tsuki was on her best behavior. It's was the walk home that was difficult. They ran into several of their teammates who either asked them '<em>Where<em> the hell did they get the kid?' or 'W_hen_ the hell did they have a kid?'.

It took a while but they finally made it to their new home. It was dark and all of them were ready for bed.

"Finally, peace." Sakura said as she walked through the door. The mini village was beautiful, little houses all connected, with the Uchiha symbol everywhere. They were staying in one of the smaller houses, which wasn't really that small.

The door they entered, lead to a big mahogany style living room, complete with furnisher. To the right was a kitchen with appliances and a table and chair set. Where the living room and kitchen separated was a staircase, leading to three bedrooms and a bathroom.

"Alright go pick your room." She told Tsuki as she handed her the two bags of cloths.

Tsuki's eyes widened in excitement and ran up the stairs as fast as her little legs would take her. Sakura then walked over to the couch, sitting her stuff on the floor, she sat down on the comfy cushions. Sasuke did the same and sat down next to her.

"So how long has it been since you've been here?" Sakura said looking over at her raven haired friend.

He was silent at first as she patiently waited for a response. "This is the first time since the repairs were made."

She gave him a sad smile. "Are you ok with being here? I mean I know this place bring back a lot of unwanted memories for you."

He looked at her sincerely "I'll be ok, I need to get used to this place anyway."

"Ok but if you ever need anything I'll be here, alright." She finished with a smile.

He smiled back softly at her, a smile only she has ever seen, and gave her a small nod.

"So do you think we should take Tsuki grocery shopping with us tomorrow?" Sakura asked as she changed the subject.

"No, I think we should let her sleep in. She's had a rough day." Sasuke answered glancing at the stairs.

Sakura then started to chuckle evilly.

Sasuke gave her a smirk. "What are you thinking?"

"I think we should send an early morning message to Kakashi telling him we need a babysitter. Let's see how long he takes to get here when he thinks we've had a kid." She said with an evil grin.

"You're a genus." He complemented.

"I know" she replied with a triumphant smile, which made them both chuckle.

"Alright, let's go see what happened to Tsuki. She's been up there for a while now." Sakura said getting up. She picked up her things and headed for the stairs, with Sasuke close behind.

Sakura stopped at the first door she came to and looked inside. There she found the girl curled up on the bed fast asleep. She looked over to Sasuke who just stepped into the doorframe next to her.

"She must have been exhausted. I don't even think she went into the other rooms." Looking down the hall at the other doors, this was the only one open.

"Are the blankets in the closet?" She asked setting her bags down.

"They should be." He replied as he sat his bags next to hers.

Sakura walked over to the closet and pulled out a pillow and blanket. She draped the blanked over the sleeping child and put the pillow under her head. Sasuke shut the closet door behind her, and then walked over to the bedside where she was standing.

"She's had a hard life up until now. Let's hope it only gets easier from here." He said looking at the small child.

"Yeah" Sakura replied as they both headed out the door, closing it softly behind them.

"I guess I'll take the one on the right." Sakura said as they walked further down the hall. The first door on the right was Tsuki's room across from it was the bathroom. Then Sakura's room was the next one down from Tsuki's with Sasuke's room across from it.

"That's fine with me." Sasuke replied.

They both walked to their respected doors and turned their heads to face each other and Onyx met Emerald.

"Goodnight, Sasuke."

"Goodnight, Sakura."

They then turned into their rooms and slowly shut the door behind them.

* * *

><p>The next morning Sakura and Sasuke woke up early and met in the living room. Sakura took out a pin and paper while Sasuke summoned a bird.<p>

"All right how does this sound _'Kakashi, Sasuke and I need a babysitter while we go grocery shopping and we were hoping our favorite Sensei would do us this tiny favor, please. With Love Sakura and Sasuke. P.S. we're staying at the Uchiha Mansion. It's the first house you come to on the right side.'_" Sakura read the note she just scribbled to Sasuke.

"Sounds good to me." He replied then took the note and placed it on the bird's leg.

The bird the quickly flew out the window and headed for its destination.

"It will only take the bird a few minutes to get to Kakashi's house from here." Sakura yawned then leaned back into the couch. Sasuke did the same and closed his eyes.

A few minutes past by and both were on the brink of falling back to sleep when they heard a loud bang. Both shot up and looked to where the sound had came from. There, standing at the door, was a panting Kakashi. Apparently he had been running.

"When did you have a kid?" He asked breathing heavily.

"We didn't." Sakura said giggling.

Kakashi composed himself and gave her a sad look

"You lied to me." He said like he was about to cry.

"No, we didn't lie to you, we really do need a babysitter, but she doesn't belong to us." Sakura said still laughing at the man's expression.

"Come sit, we'll explain." She added.

Sasuke sighed sitting back down on the couch, while Sakura took her seat next to him and Kakashi sat in the chair, and they explained their story for the hundredth time.

* * *

><p>After their explanation the two left Kakashi with the sleeping child as they went shopping. When they arrived at the store Sasuke grabbed a shopping cart while Sakura began to load it with all the things she thought they would need., including ramen since the girl took such a strong liking to it.<p>

"Sasuke, the academy term starts in a few weeks, should we enroll her?" Sakura asked as she picked out a box of cereal and placed it in the cart.

"I don't see why not, going to the academy doesn't make you a ninja. She can decide once she graduates whither or not she wants that lifestyle." Sasuke said pushing the cart further down the aisle.

* * *

><p>The sun shining in from the window is what Tsuki awoken to. She sat up and stretched. She looked around the room then remembered were she was. She got up as her stomach growled. She walked out the door wondering where her new parents were.<p>

She walked across the hall and opened the door to the bathroom and looked inside. Nope, not there. She then walked further down the hall to the next door. Nope, they weren't there either. Then she walked across the hall and into the last room. Nope, where were they? She asked herself walking to the stairs.

She slowly walked down the staircase to the living room when she saw a silver haired man sitting in the couch reading a book. She was confused. She didn't remember meeting him last night. Who was he?

He looked over to her and smiled under his mask. "Hello there, my name is Kakashi. I'm a friend of Sakura and Sasuke's. They went to buy groceries and will be back shortly." He said as if reading her mind.

"Hi my names Tsuki Kurokage, nice to meet you." She smiled back and went to sit on the couch.

"So, are you a ninja like Sakura and Sasuke?" She asked looking at the strange man.

"Yes in fact I was their teacher when they were younger." He said with pride.

The girl's eyes got wide "Wow that's so cool. Man, you must me old." She said earnestly, giving him a toothy grin.

Kakashi sweat dropped anime style. "I'm not that old" he said with frown.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, there it is. It's a little short but I wanted to get it up quickly because I'm not sure if I will be able to work on it any this week.<strong>

**But thanks again to my two loyal reviewers DawnCervants and kitten9322**

**~PychoNinjaWolf**


	5. Chapter 5

**Edited: 12/14/13 (**_*sigh* I'm running out of ways to say that, 'this sucks so I'm going back to fix it'._**) **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! I just own Tsuki, Kurochi, and Kage, which I created with my own little imagination. :)**

**Enjoy ^^**

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Chapter 5<span>_**

"So Tsuki, what were your parents like?" Kakashi asked, trying to get to know the girl better, while avoiding the subject of his age.

"Well I just had a mommy, and she died a few years ago. I don't remember much about her except, she was really nice and hugged me a lot." She answered with a warm smile, as if remembering that moment only.

"Oh well, if she gave you lots of hugs she must have been nice." He told her.

"yup" she agreed with a nod.

"So, what do you think about Sakura and Sasuke?" He asked her curiously.

"They're my friends, and they're really nice. When we first met Sakura healed my leg and Sasuke gave me a piggyback ride all the way here." She said emphasizing some phases like a child would when telling a story.

They herd the door open, and they turned to see the subjects of their conversation coming in with grocery bags. Tsuki ran up to them "Here let me help." She said as she took a few bags.

"Why, thank you." Sakura said with a smile complementing on the child's politeness.

"Well, as much as I'd love to help you put groceries away, I really have to get going. I was supposed to meet the Hokage thirty minutes ago about a mission." Kakashi said as he put his book in his pocket and walked over to the three.

"Kakashi, Why didn't you tell us? We would have come back sooner!" Sakura yelled at him in disbelief.

"I was going to be late anyway, might as well have a good excuse." He replied rubbing the back of his head smiling.

"Tsunade is training Naruto, so she's been on edge for the past few weeks. She's a ticking time bomb ready to explode. Do you really want to be the trigger?" Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Umm I gotta go." Kakashi said with an oh-shit look and disappeared with a poof.

"Maybe Tsunade will finally teach him a lesson about being late." Sakura said laughing as she headed for the kitchen.

* * *

><p>After everything was put away they had all went into the living room and sat down. Sasuke and Sakura sat at the ends with Tsuki between the two.<p>

"Have you ever been to school?" Sakura asked turning to the girl beside her.

"No." She said with a sad face.

"Well how would you like to go?" Sakura said hoping for a positive response.

"Can I?" The girl asked with excitement in her voice.

"Of course." She said with a reassuring smile.

"That's awesome, when can I go?" she said hopping off the couch and bouncing up and down. She was very excited. In her old village, her mom died before she was old enough, and all the kids teased her about not being able to go. She was overjoyed to find out that she could do what normal kids could do for a change.

"In a few weeks but first we have to sign you up tomorrow." Sasuke said with a blank face, watching as the girl suddenly stopped bouncing and gave him a sad face.

"I have to wait two whole weeks!" She said with a frown.

"Don't worry it will be her before you know it." Sakura said, trying to cheer the girl up. "Now let's go eat breakfast, I starving."

* * *

><p>Kakashi gently opened the door to his doom, aka the Hokage's office, and slowly stepped inside. There he found a fuming Tsunade.<p>

"You better have a damn good reason for being late." The godaime said with a murderous voice. Kakashi gulped nervously.

"Umm I was babysitting for Sasuke and Sakura while they got groceries." He said with a nervous tone.

Tsunade sighed. "Ugh I still have no idea what to do about that kid." She said seemingly calm.

Kakashi breathed a relief. Maybe he wasn't going to die today.

"I can't keep this a permanent mission. It's against the rules. She's going to have to be put in the foster system." She sighed again burying her head in her hands.

"I don't think that's a good idea. That girl loves those two. If she's taken away from them, it would devastate her." Kakashi said with a frown. From just the small conversation he shared with the child he could see the love she held for his two pupils.

"I think you should give it a few months, see how they react together, and what kind of relationships are formed. Then give them an option." Kakashi finished with a hopeful look.

The godaime laughed "That's brilliant, it's so simple. Why didn't I think of that?" She said with confusion.

"I was the same way when training Naruto. You slowly start to lose your mind, but don't worry you'll recover a few weeks after your finished." Kakashi said with an honest smile.

"I don't think I can survive that long." Tsunade admitted as the two laughed.

* * *

><p>The next morning Tsuki was the first one up. She had ran and excitedly woken up Sakura and Sasuke and made them hurry to get dressed. Once the rushing was over, they were out the door and headed to the academy. Tsuki got in between the two so she could hold both of their hands as she skipped with glee.<p>

"Do you want to stop at Ichiraku's before we go?" Sakura asked the energetic child as they walked through the streets of Konoha.

"Yeah." The young girl just got even more excited. Getting ramen and going to a school, her day couldn't get any better. Then there it was . . . a kitten . . . in the ally right next to them.

"Aww a kitten!" She said as she gave Sakura and Sasuke's hands to each other, without them noticing, so she could run and pet the unsuspecting cat. She stopped right before she got to close and squatted to hold out her hand.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty, I won't hurt you." She said softly to the kitten. It immediately came to the girl and she started to pet it while it gently purred at her touch.

"Do you think we should let her keep it?" Sakura leaned in and whispered to Sasuke, currently oblivious that they were holding hands.

"Hn no" Sasuke replied with a scowl.

"Aw come on Sasuke it's just a little kitten, and it looks like its starving to death. It needs a home." She said as she tried to point to the thing but realized that she was holding his hand instead.

They looked down at their interlocked hands then back up at each other. Their eyes met for a few seconds that seemed like an eternity to them and then let their hands go quickly.

"Sorry" They both said in unison with a small blush on their face as they looked away.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Alright, but on one condition." He said as he looked back at her, returning to the previous subject.

"And what's that?" She said putting her hands on her hips, and giving him a this-better-be-good look.

"I don't want anything to do with it." He replied crossing his arms.

"Ok that's fair."

Sakura then walked over to the purring kitten. It was solid white except for its ears and its tail which were black. She knelt down beside the girl

"Do you want to keep it?" she said petting the cat carefully.

"Yeah" she said softly yet excitedly as to not frighten the kitten.

"Ok then let's go, we can feed it once we get to Ichiraku's." She said standing up. The girl followed picking up the kitten as she did so. The kitten curled up in her arms and continued to purr loudly.

Once they got to Ichiraku's they sat down and ordered their ramen and a small bowl of shrimp for the cat. Tsuki put the kitten on the ground next to her and the little guy ate his shrimp happily.

"So what are you going to name him" Sakura asked once their food was served.

"Hmm Ryu!" She said like it had just hit her upside the head.

"Do you like that name?" She asked skeptically.

"Of course, it's a great name." Sakura said smiling down at the cat. Tsuki smiled and continued to eat her ramen.

When the kitten finally finished his meal he took the liberty of jumping on Sasuke's lap. Sasuke was surprised at first but then glared at the fur ball lounging on his lap.

"Get it off." He demanded as looked over at Sakura who was right next to him trying to stifle a laugh.

"Sasuke . . . it's just a kitten." She said letting out a little giggle.

"Hn" He grunted as Sakura gently took the kitten from him and handed it to Tsuki, who stopped giggling enough to place the purring cat on her lap.

"Sakura, Sasuke, Tsuki, what are you guys doing here?" They all turned to see the blonde future Hokage holding the hand of a blushing violet haired Hyuuga.

Yes, Naruto and Hinata were finally together. After the war ended Naruto had a lot of time to think about her confession to him during his battle with pain, he realized that the love he had for Sakura was more of a brother sister type of bond, but he felt differently about the Hyuuga heiress, and of course it took him a while to muster up enough courage to ask her out. So now they've been dating for about two years.

"Where eating, what does it look like?" Sakura stated turning back to her meal.

Sasuke smirk at the comment while Tsuki continued to laugh. These people were hysterical. Why couldn't she have come here a long time ago?

"Sakura . . . don't be mean." Naruto frowned as he and Hinata took a seat beside Tsuki.

"Sorry Naruto, sometimes I can't help it." She said taking another bit of her ramen.

"But what are you doing here I thought you were supposed to be training?" She continued.

"Nope, Tsunade finally gave me the day off so I could spend some time with Hinata." The blonde replied giving his girlfriend's hand a gentle squeeze.

Sakura gave him a look of disbelief. "WHAT! Tsunade never gave me a day off and I trained with her for three years!" The pink haired ANBU shouted not believing what he had just told her.

Naruto gave her a grin "I guess she likes me better." He said teasingly.

"Naruto, I doubt that she likes you better than her apprentice. She probable gave you the day off because she needed a break from your complaining." Sasuke said as a smirk played on his lips.

"Hey" The blonde said crossing his arms.

"Naruto you do complain a lot when it comes to training." The Hyuuga said quietly.

"Hinata! Not you too." He whined slouching down in his stool. The girls laughed and Sasuke smirked as Naruto pouted.

"Oh, hey, a kitty." Naruto said randomly after he quit his pity party to pet the cat.

"His name is Ryu." Tsuki said as the kitten flopped over on his back so Naruto could pet his belly.

"Oh, Tsuki this is Hinata. Hinata, Tsuki, this is the girl that Sakura and Sasuke are taking care of." Naruto said once he had realized they haven't been properly introduced.

"Hi Tsuki that's a very pretty cat you have there." Hinata said smiling at the girl.

"Thank you" She replied joining Naruto in petting the cat.

"Alright we better get going. We're signing Tsuki up for the academy today." Sakura said getting up from her seat. Sasuke and Tsuki followed.

"Oh Hinata didn't you get offered a teaching job at the academy" Sakura asked before they took off. "Yeah, next year, Iruka-sensei is going to take on a genin team and I'll be his replacement." She said as her and Naruto's food was served.

"Oh ok, well we'll see you guys later, I hope you have a nice date." Sakura said waving good-bye.

"Thanks, bye" Naruto and Hinata said in unison.

* * *

><p>Once they got to the academy Tsuki ran off to play with some of the kids that were there while Sakura and Sasuke talked to the teachers. It took a few hours before they finally finished all the paperwork and were able to pry Tsuki away from her new friends, but now they were on their way home after stopping at a local market for cat food and kitty litter.<p>

Sasuke walked silently with one hand in his pocket while holding a bag in his other and Sakura was holding Tsuki's hand as the girl hummed and skipped happily with her new kitten in her free arm.

"So Tsuki, did you have fun?" Sakura asked rhetorically because it was obvious the child had more fun than they did.

"Yep, I can't wait until next week." She replied with excitement.

It was late once they got home. All three collapsed on the couch. Tsuki lay at one end with her head on Sakura's lap, while Sasuke was on the other side of his pink haired teammate. Ryu had made his place on the arm of the couch beside Tsuki and was sleeping peacefully. Sakura gently ran her fingers through the girl's hair until she fell into a peaceful sleep.

"You know, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I can ask Tsunade to let me take this mission alone." Sakura asked once she knew the girl was fast asleep.

"Sakura" Sasuke said turning to look her in the eye "I _want_ to do this. She _needs_ us, and you can't take care of her alone. I'm not going to let you raise her by yourself." He continued breaking their eye contact to look at the floor.

"I know what it's like to grow up without parents. I don't want her to have to go through that. I want to help her any way I can." He finished taking his eyes off the ground to give his pink haired partner a determined look.

Sakura gave him a soft smile. "Sasuke, you're so sweet." She said giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek, which made them both slightly blush for the second time that day.

"Ok let's put her to bed."

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><p><strong>Yay chapter 5 ^^ sorry it took me so long to get it up, but I tried to make it up to you all by making it as long as I could. I didn't have time to reread it so let me know if there are any mistakes.<strong>

**And thanks again to my two loyal reviewers DawnCervants and Kitten9322, and I also want to thank some new reviewers Pockykiss, Jae0714, and TheGirlWhoIsInLoveWithJapan. And sorry if I missed anyone or if i spelled your name incorrectly :) lol sometimes i even spell my own name wrong. So just let me know and i'll acknowledge it in the next chapter. ^^**

**~PychoNinjaWolf**


	6. Chapter 6

**Edited: 12/19/13 (**_fixing up the paragraphing, nothing major. I'll come back and edit it again latter_**) **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! **I just own Tsuki, Kurochi, and Kage.****

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><p><strong><em><span>Chapter 6<span>_**

The following few weeks went by quickly for the three. They had successfully litter trained Ryu, and taught Tsuki that there are more good food in the world besides ramen. They had gone to the park and had even given her a tour of the entire village. Now it was the night before school started and they were sitting in the living room after Sakura had given Tsuki a bath.

"Sakura, did you like school?" Tsuki ask feeling a little nervous about tomorrow. Sakura was unsure wither she should lie or tell her the truth, but she figured the truth would better prepare her.

"No not at first. I was picked on a lot because of my forehead, but then I found a friend who taught me to how stand up for myself and not let what other people say get to me. After that I made more friends and I had a lot of fun." Sakura told her and finished with a smile.

Tsuki smiled back and then looked at Sasuke. "What about you Sasuke, did you like it?" Tsuki said waiting patiently for a response.

Sasuke looked like a deer in the headlights. He didn't know what say. _'No because at the time I thought it was a waste of _time.' or _'No I was to focused on planning how to kill my homicidal brother._'

"Umm no, but I didn't like much of anything when I was your age." He had decided that sounded more appropriate than the first two.

Tsuki was a little confused but left it at that, but meanwhile Sakura knew Sasukes situation and patted his shoulder with an understanding glance. She understood it was hard to explain a troubled past to an innocent child and he technically wasn't lying.

"Well, are you ready for bed?" Sakura asked returning her attention to the child.

"No I'm too excited to sleep." She replied innocently.

"Just think, the faster you fall asleep the quicker tomorrow will get here." Sasuke point out to the girl.

"Alright, but can you tell me a bed time story. Pleeeeease" The child asked emphasizing the E for extra effort.

"Ok but just one." Sakura said holding up a finger.

"Ok" she replied racing up the stairs to her room.

"I swear that child has more energy than Naruto and Lee combined." Sakura said to Sasuke as they fallowed slowly behind.

After they all gathered in Tsuki's room they told her story about the first time they meet Kakashi and about the bell test he made them do. Sakura told the main parts while Sasuke added or commented on others, but it didn't take Tsuki long to fall asleep. Once the two were sure she wouldn't wake up, they had both slipped out into the kitchen.

"I'm going to make some tea do you want some?" Sakura asked as they entered the kitchen.

"Sure" Sasuke replied taking a seat at the table.

"We need to go talk to Tsunade tomorrow." He added as he watched her put the teapot on the stove.

"I know, we'll do that after we drop Tsuki off at the academy." The pink haired kunoichi said taking a seat across from the Uchiha.

"So . . . what do we do if Tsunade makes us put her in the foster system?" Sakura asked sadly. She didn't want it to come to that but it was a possibility she couldn't ignore forever.

"We fight for her?" Sasuke said deadpanned. Sakura looked at him slightly shocked.

"Wow _The_ Sasuke Uchiha actually cares for this girl?" Sakura asked with slight surprise.

"Of course." Sasuke replied giving her a weird look.

"I didn't think you were capable of caring for anyone other than yourself." She teased

"I care about other people" he said defensively.

"Like who?" she asked with a smirk.

"I care about you." He said giving her a gentle look.

It was true the Uchiha did care for his pink headed teammate. Ever since that day he woke up in the Konoha Hospital five years ago, their relationship and teamwork has only improved. He's gotten closer to her than anyone else in the village.

She had defiantly changed over the years. He had noticed that right off. She was no longer the loud obnoxious weak little fangirl she used to be, but a strong independent accomplished medical-nin. Sure, she could be loud at times and she's definitely outspoken, but when she's around him she's more quiet and understanding. She doesn't get on his nerves like the others do.

Sakura's heart flutter at his comment, but she returned the same loving look he was giving her. Sasuke reached up and brushed away a strain of hair that was in her face. His hand lingered there for a second before they were interrupted by the shrill of the teapot. They both jumped and looked away clearing their throats. Sakura quickly got up and removed the pot from the stove while Sasuke went to get two cups from the cabinet.

"Thank you." Sakura said once Sasuke placed the cups on the table and reclaimed his seat.

"Hn" was his only reply. After she poured the tea she placed the pot back on the stove and turned it off.

They sat back down and enjoyed their tea in comfortable silence before heading to bed themselves.

* * *

><p>The next morning Sakura was the first one up. She took a quick shower and dressed before heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She was getting the eggs an milk out of the refrigerator when she heard Sasuke go to bathroom and turn on the water.<p>

By the time Sasuke had finished Sakura had already made pancakes and was working on the bacon.

"Smells good" He commented walking up behind her to peak over her shoulder at the delicious meat frying in the pan.

"Thank you" She replied with a smile.

He then walked over to the cabinet and pulled out three plates, got three forks, and three glasses. He then began setting the table as a sleepy Tsuki came in and sat down. She yawned and rubbed her tiered eyes. She then looked around the room until her gaze landed on the plate in the middle of the table. On the plate were golden circles staked on top of each other.

"What's that?" She asked Sasuke, scrunching up her nose to give it a weird look.

"It's pancakes." He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Is it good?" She asked eyeing the round cakelike dish.

"Of course, especially with a little syrup." Sakura said bringing over a plate of bacon. Now, _that_ she knew, they had had bacon a few days ago, so she was familiar with it.

Sasuke went to the refrigerator to get the juice and syrup while Sakura sat down to put the food on their plates. He placed the syrup in front of the pinkette then started pouring the juice into the glasses.

"See you take this and pour it all over the pancakes." She said as she demonstrated, then passed it to the girl. Tsuki copied, picking up the bottle and pouring its contents all over the pancakes on her plat.

She then handed the syrup to Sasuke who had just sat down after putting the juice back up, but instead of pouring it on his plate he just sat it to the side. Tsuki gave him a funny look.

"Don't you want any?" She asked pointing at the bottle he just put down.

"No, I don't like sweets." He said continuing to cut up his pancakes with a fork. Sakura giggled a little as Tsuki just shrugged. Oh well, his lose.

* * *

><p>Once they were finished eating, they feed the cat then headed to the academy, and now the two ninja were in Tsunade's office after dropping off Tsuki for her first day of school.<p>

"Sensei, have you came to a decision about Tsuki?" Sakura asked with slight hesitant.

Tsunade put her elbows on the desk and intertwined her fingers. "For now you two will continue to be the girl's guardians for at least another month. After the month is over I want you to report back to me. My final decision will be based upon your reports." She said sternly waiting for their reactions.

They both seemed relieved as they glanced at each other before giving her a nod. This made Tsunade smile.

"By the way, where is the child?" Tsunade asked realizing the girl wasn't with the two.

"She's at the academy." Sakura answered.

"Oh" she was surprised that they enrolled her so soon. They had only had the girl for a little over a week and they were already acting more like her parents than just temporary guardians.

After shaking the surprise off her face she smiled at the two in front of her. "Alright you are dismissed." She said waving them off.

They nodded and slid out the door closing it gently behind them. Sakura sigh in relief after securely closing the door.

"So now what do we do?" She asked looking up at Sasuke.

"You want to spar?" He gave her a smirk.

"Sure" she said with a smile.

* * *

><p>It was a bright and shiny day in Konoha, the birds were flying the bees were buzzing, and kunai were being thrown through the air. Once Sasuke and Sakura had returned home they had found a nice little clearing behind the Uchiha compound, and had been sparing for hours now. They were both bruised and breathing heavily but nothing serious, just the normal routine for the two.<p>

They were standing a good distance away from each other before Sakura charged at him with a fist full of chakra, which he easily evaded by grabbing her wrist and pulling it downward. Sakura then swiped her leg under the Uchiha making him jump back a few feet before being tripped.

Sakura then smirk as she made some quick hand signs. Tree vines then popped from the ground lounging at the raven haired man. He began to maneuver himself around the vines as Sakura quickly came up behind him. He narrowly dodged the punch by grabbing her wrist once more but a vine grabbed his leg making him trip and Sakura, who had lost her balance from the grip he had on her arm, landed right on top of the Uchiha.

"Well . . . that backfired" Sakura groaned using her elbows to prop herself up and raising her head to look at the Uchiha under her.

"You think" he smirked sarcastically.

They both stared deeply into each other eyes for a long moment before Sasuke reached up and tucked a strain of her pink hair behind her ear. She smiled before he leaned up to make their lips meet. It was a small gentle yet lingering kiss.

Once they broke apart Sakura quickly got up and dusted herself off. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. She cleared her throat then helped her partner off the ground.

"Umm . . . we should go shower and change before we have to pick up Tsuki." Sakura said avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah" Sasuke agreed as they headed silently back to the compound.

* * *

><p>It was now almost time for school to let out and the two were waiting patiently at the gates for Tsuki. Sasuke leaned carelessly against the wall with his arms crossed while Sakura was sat cross-legged beside him.<p>

"Hey what are you guys doing here?" A familiar voice broke their silence as the two looked up to see the long haired blonde approach them.

Sakura quickly rose to her feet and dusted herself off. "Picking up Tsuki."

Ino gave the girl a confused look which made Sakura laugh.

"You mean you haven't heard yet?" She asked with amusement. Ino, gossip central, hasn't heard that their living together and taking care of a little girl. It's was utterly shocking, yet funny at the same time.

Ino gave her a defensive look. "I just got back from a mission. I've been gone for like three weeks." She argued but the puzzled look crept back to her face once she saw a raven haired green eyed girl run up to Sakura.

Sakura bent down to her level and gave the girl a big huge. Ino's jaw dropped. She was absolutely dumbfounded. This girl looked so much like her two friends it was scary. She had Sasuke's raven color hair and Sakura's kind emerald eyes.

"What the HELL did I miss!"

Sakura laughed harder as she stood back up. "Tsuki this is one of our friends Ino. Ino this is Tsuki."

Tsuki looked up at the blond with a wide smile. "Hi, nice to meet you."

Ino shook off her what-the-fuck look to smile back at the little girl. "Hi, nice to meet you too."

The girl then returned her attention back to Sakura and Sasuke. "I'm hungry. Can we stop at Ichiraku's on the way home?"

Sakura smiled and gave the girl a nod. "Sure"

"Ok, what's going on?" Ino said placing her hands on her hips. She knew this girl didn't biologically belong to her two friends and she wanted to know where the hell this girl came from.

Sakura sighed in defeat. "Alright, come with us to Ichiraku's and I'll explain everything."

Tsuki grabbed Sasuke and Sakura's hands as they began walking towards the ramen shop.

"Aw that's so cute." Ino said watching as the girl skipped with glee holding her friends hands happily. They actually looked like a family. Sakura sweat dropped and ignored the blondes comment.

* * *

><p>After they got to the shop Sakura had explained everything to Ino and now they were just making small talk.<p>

"So Tsuki, how was school?" Sakura asked the girl next to her. Tsuki stopped slurping her ramen to look at the pinkette.

"It was great!" She replied excitedly.

"Did you make any new friends?" Ino, who was on the other side of the girl, asked stepping in to the conversation.

"Yep" The girl said then turned back to her ramen.

Ino looked over at her pink headed friend. "So, Sakura how about tomorrow you and Tsuki come over to my place after school. We can have a little girl's night out. I'll even invite Hinata and Tenten."

Sakura thought for a minute, she knew this wasn't about a 'girl's night out'. She was planning to squeeze information about what it was like to live with Sasuke and their relationship together now that there's a kid in the picture. She knew Ino all too well.

"Umm . . . I don't know." She said skeptically.

The raven haired girls head perked up at Ino's question "Yeah! Sakura, can we please?" She begged giving her puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah Sakura it will be fun." Ino joined in mimicking the girls look.

Sakura sighed in defeat. "Alight fine."

The other two then squealed like little girls. "Yay it's gonna be so much fun. We can have ice-cream and chips and watch movies." Ino said with excitement.

Tsuki gasped with joy. "I love ice-cream!"

Ino gave her a smile. "Me too!"

Sakura turned back to her food and sighed. What had she just gotten herself into? Sasuke, who has been quiet the whole time, shot her a sympathetic look. He knew this wasn't about a 'girl's night out' either. He wasn't stupid he could tell Sakura was dreading tomorrow.

"Oh, can I bring Ryu!" Tsuki shouted looking to Sakura for an answer. Ino just raised a brow.

"Who's Ryu?" She asked the raven hared girl.

Tsuki turned back to the blonde. "My kitty." She answered with a grin.

"Oh, sure then, you can bring him too." Ino smiled at the girl.

She couldn't wait until tomorrow. Not only was she going to get to spend time and get to know her new _niece_, but she was also going to get to interrogate her best friend for information about her relationship with the Uchiha.

* * *

><p>Once they were home, they bathed Tsuki and sent her to bed. Now they were sitting at the table drinking tea like the night before.<p>

"Sasuke, are you going to be ok here alone tomorrow?" Sakura said breaking the silence.

"I'll be fine." He replied taking a drink of his tea.

"I'm more worried about you. Those girls are going to torture you until you give them what they want." He teased her with a smirk.

Sakura sighed and smacked her forehead. "Ugh I'm screwed, why I agreed to this? I will never know." she said with self-pity.

Their conversation was interrupted by a scream. They both shot up and darted up the stairs. The little girl was tangled in her covers crying her poor eyes out.

"Tsuki what's wrong?" Sasuke asked once they were both at her bedside.

"I had a bad dream." She said softly wrapping her little arms around Sakura's waist.

"It's ok honey, we're here now." Sakura said soothingly stroking the girl's hair. Tsuki sat up and gave Sasuke a hug.

"Can I sleep with you guys tonight?" She asked sniffling a little. Sasuke looked at Sakura who gave him a nod. "

Sure come on, we can stay in my room." He said picking the girl up bridle style.

Sasuke carried her to his bed with Sakura trailing closely behind him. He lied Tsuki down on the bed and she quickly crawled under the covers. Sakura crawled in next to the girl while Sasuke turned off the lights. He walked over and got in on the opposite side.

"Goodnight" Tsuki said, feeling safe now that she was in between the two.

"Goodnight" the ninja's replied in unison as they quickly drifted off to better dreams their tea forgotten.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright there's chapter 6 I hope you enjoyed it. Oh and since I uploaded chapter 5 and 6 so close together I will list a thank you to all who review for these two in the next chapter.<strong>

**Thank you so much for reading**

**~PhychoNinjaWolf**


	7. Chapter 7

**Edited: 12/20/13 (**_again, just fixing the paragraphing. I'll edit more latter_**)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, just Tsuki, Kurochi, Kage, the plot, and the story of course.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

Sasuke woke to a sudden pain in his abdomen. His eyes shot open to quickly survey his surroundings. The first thing his blurry vision focused on was the slumbering pink headed ninja in front of him. His eyes softened as memories from the previous night flooded his thoughts. It was then that he noticed the girl sprawled out in between them, her knee going into his stomach.

Realizing there was no imminent danger, he refocused his attention back to his pink headed teammate. She looked peaceful, like she didn't have a care in the world. He slowly reached across to brush the stray hairs from her face so he could see her serene features more clearly.

He then glanced over at the clock. He only had about an hour before it was time to get Tsuki ready for school, so he figured he would go ahead, take a shower and get started on breakfast.

After slowly creeping out of bed and walking to the door he turned around to give one last longing glance at the scene in front of him. The two most important girls in his life right now, lying safely in his bed. He could get used to this, was his final thoughts before continuing on to the bathroom.

* * *

><p>"So . . . what now?" Sakura asked her companion once they dropped Tsuki off at school.<p>

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "Is there anything in particular you want to do?"

Sakura thought for a long minute as they walked silently.

"hmm. . . Oh! We have to get Ryu a collar." She said turning to Sasuke.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why would you get a _cat_ a collar?"

Sakura looked at him like that was the stupidest question she'd ever heard. "In case he gets lost silly." She replied with a giggle.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and kept walking.

A few minutes later they arrived at the pet shop. Sakura had already picked out a black and red tie dye collar and was looking at the different tag options. She decided on the one that was shaped like a dragon and told the clerk the names to put on it. Now after everything was paid for they were on their way home.

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and sighed. "That was pointless."

Sakura glared at him. "It wasn't pointless. I think he'll look cute. What do you have against cats anyway?"

Sasuke glared back at her. "Our first mission." He stated plainly.

Sakura's glare faltered as she cracked up with laughter. "Sasuke, that wasn't the poor cats fault. Seriously, did you see is owner? Who wouldn't put up a fight?" Sakura said in between breaths. Sasuke ignored her questions and focused his glare on the road in front of him.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted running up to the two. Sasuke stopped and rolled his eyes while Sakura was trying to stop laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" He asked once he caught up with them.

Sakura finally composing herself answered his question. "Sasuke's grudge against cats."

Naruto raised an eyebrow as Sasuke crossed his arms and glared at a nearby lamppost.

"So what do you need?" Sakura asked snapping Naruto out of his confusion.

"Oh, Sasuke, me and some of the guys were going to hang out later and I was wondering if you wanted to join." Sasuke thought for a minute. He didn't really want to go but since Sakura wasn't going to be home he might as well. It's not like he anything better to do.

"Sure." He gave a shrug.

"Great! We're all going to meet in Kiba's apartment at 3 o'clock." Naruto said with a huge grin.

"I'm going with Sakura to pick up Tsuki from school so I'll be a little late." He stated flatly.

"Ok" He said happily.

"Wait a minute! You mean Tsunade gave you _another_ day off!" Sakura said fuming.

Naruto laughed nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Uh bye Sakura." He said as he sprinted away.

"Ugh I can't believe this!" Sakura said tuning to Sasuke. He just smirked at her. She sent a glare at him and stormed off in the opposite direction as Naruto. Sasuke smiled and shook his head before walking to catch up to her.

* * *

><p>As soon as they reached the compound Sakura quickly scooped up Ryu and sat on the chair. Sasuke on the other hand, went straight to the kitchen to make some tea. Sakura gently latched the collar around the cat's neck, and then looked the cat over.<p>

"You are so cute." She cooed to the kitten. He meowed and nudged her hand with his head, urging her to pet him.

Once Sasuke put the pot on the stove he went and leaned on the doorframe and watched as Sakura quietly played with the kitten. He had to admit it was quit amusing. Sakura would wiggle her fingers in the air and the cat would stand on his hind legs and swat at them. Sakura laughed softy at the kitten's ailed attempts to catch her fingers. This made Sasuke smirked. If that fur ball could make her smile then he was ok in his book.

The sudden shrill of the tea pot brought him out of his thoughts. He turned around and headed for the heated object. Sakura came in behind him and got out two cups from the cabinet and sat them on the table.

After a few minutes they were both seated and drinking their tea silently. Sakura was the first to break the deafening silence. "Well, we still have a few hours before Tsuki gets out of school. So is there anything you would like to do?"

Sasuke took a sip of his tea and thought for a minute. "I would like to practice my accuracy. Would you mind training for a bit?"

Sakura smiled. "Of course not." She replied.

They both finished their tea quickly and headed for the training ground near the compound.

"The usual accuracy training?" Sakura asked once in the clearing. Sasuke nodded and walked to the middle of the open area.

Sakura performed some quick hand signs as Sasuke activated his sharingan. Roots began to come out of the ground and in a blink of an eye they disappeared with a poof, leaving nothing but a falling shuriken. Roots continued to burst from the ground randomly and at rapid speed. Sasuke managed to hit them as soon as they appeared without missing a beat. Sakura even spiced it up by making them come from a farther distance and from other trees.

They continued to do this routine until Sakura got bored and decided to sneak up on him, which led to a sparring match. Sasuke had to admit, over the years Sakura had become a formidable opponent, even rivaling Naruto. She always kept him on his toes, and he like that.

When the war ended, the old team 7 would often train together. They mostly chose to separate into pairs and he quickly learned that he worked better with her than the other two. Kakashi was too unpredictable and hard to read and Naruto was too forward and loud. Sakura on the other hand liked to strategize and was easy for him to read. They communicated effectively without even saying a word to one another, and rarely lost a battle.

"I think we should head back to the house now." Sakura said panting a few feet away from her partner. Sasuke, who was breathing just as hard, deactivated his sharingan and gave her a nod.

* * *

><p>Sasuke and Sasuke were, once again, waiting outside the school for their temporary daughter to come running out of the gates at any minute. Sasuke was leaning against the wall for support with his arms crossed and Sakura was sitting cross legged on the ground beside him petting a purring Ryu that was currently balled up in her lap.<p>

A few minute later Tsuki came running up to them with a huge smile. Sakura sat Ryu on the ground a quickly got up to hug the child.

"Did you have fun?" Sakura asked as Sasuke took her backpack.

"Yeah! Iruka-sensei taught us about chakra. Sakura, when I grow up can I be a ninja like you and Sasuke?" She asked excitedly.

Sakura smiled at the child's enthusiasm. "If that's what you want, we'll teach you everything we know." She finished and glanced at Sasuke who gave her a smirk in return.

"Yes!" Tsuki said giving a fist pump, which made Sakura laugh.

"And Ryu's going to be my ninja cat." She said picking up the kitten. The cat mewed as if agreeing and started to purr.

Tsuki then noticed the thing around his neck. She held the cat with one hand as she rubbed the tag with her free hand. She then gave Sakura a confused look. "What's this?"

Sakura gave her a reassuring smile. "A collar. It's kind of like a necklace but the tag has his name on the front and your name and address on the back. Just in case he ever gets lost. Whoever finds him will know where he lives." Sakura explained petting the cat softly on the head.

"So it's like Kurochi's necklace." She stated and Sakura agreed with a nod.

"I like it." The girl beamed. Sakura send an I-told-you-so glance at Sasuke who playfully rolled his eyes in return, giving her his usual smirk.

"Can you give me and Ryu a piggyback ride, pleeeeease." Tsuki asked looking up at Sasuke with pleading grin.

"I'll give _you _one, but the cat goes with Sakura." He said giving Tsuki's backpack to the said person. Sure, he's learning to like the cat, but he'll be damned if he's going to give that fur ball a piggyback ride.

"Sorry Ryu, no piggy back for you." Tsuki said, handing him to Sakura. Sakura draped the backpack over her shoulder and adjusted the kitten in her arms while Tsuki climbed onto Sasuke's back.

Once they were on their way Tsuki quickly fell asleep on Sasuke's shoulder. Sakura glanced over at the sleeping girl.

"She must have worn herself out." She said and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"I'll walk you to Ino's before I head over to Kiba's." Sakura looked at him with nervous eyes.

"You mean the interrogation room." She corrected him. He chuckled lightly at her assumption as she smiled back at him. It was rare for him to smile or laugh so she enjoyed every minute of it while it lasted.

"It won't be that bad." He said trying to reassure her.

"You don't know Ino the way I do, she's ruthless." She stated with a mental cringe.

"You'll be fine, just counter her every move."

Sakura thought about it for a moment before replyig. "Your right." She said with and menacing grin, stroking Ryu slowly. Sasuke gave her a smirk and they continued their walk in a comfortable silence.

* * *

><p>Once there, Sakura gently woke Tsuki up.<p>

"Where are we?" she asked drowsily looking around.

"We're at Ino's" Sakura said softly. Realization dawned on the child and she perked up quickly. She hopped off of Sasuke's back and went to stand next to Sakura. Sakura looked down at the smiling girl.

"Why don't you go on up and knock on the door."

Ino lived in a small two story building, housing only two separate apartments. She had the top floor while a different family lived in the bottom. Tsuki nodded and went to Sasuke who crouched down to give her a huge. Once she broke the huge she kissed him on the cheek and quickly got Ryu from Sakura.

"Bye Sasuke" She said turning around and heading up the stairs.

"That was cute." Sakura giggled as Sasuke got up from his crouching position.

Sasuke smiled but quickly shook it off. "So what time are you going to be home?"

Sakura sighed. "I have no clue but Tsuki has school in the morning so it won't be too late." She gave him and exhausted smile.

"Ok I'll see you then." He said smiling back at her.

"Yeah." She said softly as she walked to the steps.

"Bye Sasuke," she said turning her head to him one last time before heading up the stairs. "

Bye Sakura," he replied and waited for her to get to the door before turning around and walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

><p>A very impatient blonde paced around the room while her two friends sat irritably on the couch. Tenten got up to stand next to the window while Hinata quietly kept her seat on the couch.<p>

"Ino quit pacing, you going to wear a hole in the floor." Tenten huffed in aggravation. They had only been waiting for 20 minutes but Ino's inpatient attitude is driving her insane.

Ino stopped and turned to Tenten who was now looking out the window. "Where the hell is-"

"There they are!" Tenten cut her off and pointed out the window. Hinata and Ino quickly scurried over and they all crouched down so they wouldn't be seen.

"Aw Sasuke's giving Tsuki a piggyback ride." Ino cooed as they watched them from the window.

"Sakura has a cat?" Tenten said once she saw the furry kitten slumbering in her arms.

"Yeah isn't he adorable?" Hinata said smiling.

"Aw Tsuki kissed Sasuke on the cheek, that's so cute." Tenten said as they continued to watch.

"I'll get the door." Hinata said when she saw Tsuki heading up the Stairs. She's the only one who felt a little guilty about invading in her friend's personal life.

Once Hinata got to the door she herd a knock. She opened it to reveal a grinning Tsuki.

"Hi Hinata!" She beamed at the ninja before her. Hinata smiled back at her.

"Hey Tsuki, common in."

The girl walked past her and walked over to the other two girls. They were still crouched down at the window.

"What are you doing?" She asked putting Ryu down and couching next to Ino.

"We're spying." Ino said as if it were good thing.

"oh" Tsuki was a little confused but continued to look out the window with them.

"Oh my god! Is Sasuke actually smiling!" Ino almost shouted. Now _that_ Hinata had to see. She walked over to the window and glanced at him.

"Yep" Hinata said nonchalantly.

"Wow this is the first time I have ever seen him smile in my entire life." Tenten said with bewilderment. Tsuki was still confused but smiled at the site.

"Shit, here she comes." Ino said as they all jumped away from the window, except for Tsuki who was still confused.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok there it is. I am sooooooo sorry for the late update. I have had one hell of a month -_-" Life got in the way and I give you my deepest apologies for it.<strong>

**Anywayway thank you so much for reviewing I don't deserve your kindness. sasukeXXXsakura15, Pockykiss, Lil'cuppyCAKEZ, ShnieseAce, Epicstory, Ryukyu Girl, Royal Duke Armadilloer III, DawnCervantes, kitten9322, TurtleDovesRule, .us00, and jae0714. Let me know if I missed anybody.**

**~PychoNinjaWolf**


	8. Chapter 8

**Edited: 12/20/13 (**_same as before, I'll edit better latter_**) **

**Disclaimer: I asked Santa for Naruto this year and the only thing the fat bastard got me was a cheap sweater. -_- so I still don't own Naruto. Lol but I do own Tsuki, Kage, Kurochi, and this story.**

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Chapter 8<span>_**

"Alright girls you know the plan." Ino said with determination as the other two nodded in agreement.

Hinata bent down in front of Tsuki who was still crouched in the floor and smiled at the poor confused girl. "Would you like to go get some ice cream?" She asked sweetly.

Tsuki's expression went immediately into an excited smile "Yeah!" She said as she jumped to her feet.

Hinata grabbed the girls hand and walked over to the door as Sakura began to knock on it. "Hi Sakura, Tsuki and I are going to go get some ice cream." Hinata spoke as she opened the door. She gave Sakura and apologetic look and rushed past her dragging an excited Tsuki along.

"Umm. . . ok." Sakura said looking back at the retreating girls. The next thing she knew she was in a dark room tied to a chair with chakra ropes. She heard footsteps walking towards her as she looked around but her eyes hadn't adjusted to the light so she couldn't see anything.

Suddenly she heard a click and a bright light shined in her eyes. The sudden brightness made her flinch and close her eye's tightly. She slowly opened them to see a familiar blonde shining a flash light in her eyes.

"INO WHAT THE HELL! You scared the fuck out of me!" Sakura shouted once she realized where she was and who it was that was in front of her.

"Untie me from this damn chair!" She was furious now and glaring holes into the blonde's skull. She had been expecting some kind of interrogation but this was ridiculous.

Ino shined the light under her chin to make her face light up in the dark." Sakura this is an interrogation. I'm not supposed to untie you." She said mater-factly.

"Interrogate me about what?" Sakura growled, faking dumb.

"Your relationship with the Uchiha." Ino answered shining the light back in Sakura's face.

"Would you turn on the damn light!" Sakura said flinching away from the flash light.

Ino scanned the room quickly and landed the light on Tenten, who was shielding her eyes with her hand. "Alright just get the light out of my face." She said and walked over to the door. She flipped the switch reviling the rest of Ino's room.

"Alright Sakura, now spill it." The brunette said while walking over to stand by Ino. Sakura let out a sigh.

"Where friends, partners, teammates." She said rolling her eyes.

Ino put her hands on her hip and glared. "Come on, you've been living together and taking care of a child for almost a month. You can't tell me nothing has happened." At that comment Sakura slightly blushed at remembering the kiss they had shared on the training field the other day. This caught Tenten's eye.

The brunette smirked "Something _has _happened hasn't it?"

Sakura shook off the blush and glared at the girls. "Well what about you two. Tenten you and Neji sneak off all the time, and you," She looked over at Ino. "I see the way you look at Shikamaru." Both girls blushed as they looked at her with surprise.

"I do not sneak off with Neji!" Tenten said definitively still blushing.

"Sure" Sakura said sarcastically.

Ino sighed in defeat. "Alright Sakura you win. If you tell us your story then we'll tell you ours." This made Sakura smirk. Finally she had beaten them at their own game. It's too bad she still had to tell them her secret, but oh well at least she's not the only one coming clean.

"Ok but on one condition." She said putting her mind back on track. They both looked at her with a raised brow.

"And what's that?" Tenten questioned wearily.

"You get me out of this damn chair and we sit on the bed like normal people!" The pinkette shouted in annoyance making the other two girls jump in surprise.

* * *

><p>"Hinata, why did we leave so fast." Tsuki asked Hinata once they were sitting on a bench in the park eating their ice cream.<p>

"Ino and Tenten needed to talk to Sakura alone." She told the girl, hoping to leave it at that. But of course you know how kids are.

"What did they need to talk about?"

The kunoichi thought for a minute before saying, "Um well . . . about her and Sasuke." She said unsure of where this conversation would lead.

"Oh . . . but what do they want to talk about her and Sasuke for?" Tsuki asked a little confused.

Hinata took a lick of her ice cream before starting. "Well . . . you see, when we were all about your age Sakura had a crush on Sasuke, and Ino and Tenten just want to know if she still likes him." She finished with a smile and another lick of ice cream.

"oh" Tsuki replied still not understanding completely but leaving it at that. So instead of lingering on the subject she finished her ice cream and talked to Hinata about random things.

* * *

><p>"Alright Sakura, you first." Tenten said as she sat cross legged at the end of her bed. Ino was next to her and Sakura was in front of them both at the head of the bed.<p>

"Yeah, so what's Sasuke like with Tsuki?" Tenten asked with curiosity.

"Well, he's defiantly interesting. He's showing a fatherly side of him that I didn't think he had. He gives her piggy back rides, holds her hand, and hugs her. We even tell her bedtime stories together." Sakura said smiling. Just the thought, brought joy to her heart.

"Aw that is so sweet." The blonde said as the other two nodded in agreement.

"At first I thought he was only doing it because it was a mission, so I told him I could do it alone and he didn't have to do this if he didn't want to. But to my surprise he said that he wanted to do it, he actually cares for Tsuki. He treats her like a daughter." Sakura finished.

"Alright, is that it?" She asked hopefully.

Ino gave her a sly look. "No, come on girl. Tell us what happens while Tsuki's in school. You know while you two have the whole house to yourselves."

Sakura gave them an impatient look. "Ino, we train. There is _nothing_ going on between me and Sasuke. We kissed one time. It's nothing."

Ino and Tenten smirked.

"Kissing is not _nothing_. It usually leads to a more intimate relationship. " Ino stated.

"So how did it happen?" The brunette asked wanting more information.

"We were training, I fell on top of him, and he kissed me." She said flatly desperately wanting the conversation to go elsewhere.

Tenten gave her a disbelieving look "And that was it. You're both just acting like it never happened?" she asked.

Sakura nodded. "ok Ino it's your turn."

Ino shrugged, distracted from the previous subject, she answered. "Well there's not much to tell. I've liked Shikamaru for a while but I think he has a thing for Temari, and I can't get is head out of the clouds long enough to find out anything." She finished with a sigh.

Sakura gave her a hopeful look. "Well Ino I can definitely tell you he doesn't have a thing for Temari."

Ino looked up at her. "Really, how do you know?"

Sakura continued. "We were on a mission together. I saw the way they acted around each other. I could tell the only feeling he has for her is a close friendship."

Ino exhaled loudly. "That's a relief."

"And the Next time you catch him cloud gazing, lay down beside him instead of telling him to get his head out of the clouds that he's gazing at." Tenten said hoping it was good advice.

"Thanks guys." Ino replied gratefully.

"Alright Tenten, your turn." The blonde piped up.

The weapon mistress sighed trying to figure what to say. "Well, I've liked Neji since we were genin. I just don't know how he feels."

Sakura smirked "Tenten, you and Neji are always around each other. I've never seen him hold a conversation with anyone longer than ten minutes except for you. If he didn't like you he would let you know." Tenten smiled at her.

"Your right. I guess I'm going to have to make the first move, huh."

Sakura nodded and they all started to laugh.

* * *

><p>Sasuke softly knocked on Kiba's door. A few seconds later he was meet with a loud blonde shouting his name.<p>

"Sasuke! You're here!" He said and turned his head back to the room.

"Hey guys Sasuke's here! Come on in Teme." Naruto shouted and gestured for him to come in. Sasuke walked past him and into the living room where the other guys were sitting.

**Ten Minutes Later**

Neji and Shikamaru were sitting across from each other playing a game of chess, while Sasuke leaned on the kitchen counter and watched the intense match. Naruto and Kiba were fighting in a video game, furiously pressing buttons and swaying with their characters. Lee and Choji were waiting patiently to play the winner as they watched the battle between the Fox and the Dog.

"So Sasuke, How are things going with Tsuki?" Neji asked while moving on of his pawns forward.

"Good" He replied, watching as Shikamaru just took the pawn that he had moved.

"Is Sakura going to keep her, or is Tsunade going to give her to someone else once the mission is over?" Shikamaru asked, waiting for Neji to make his next move.

"_We're_ keeping her." He replied putting emphases on the _we're. _Shikamaru and Neji both looked up at him with confusion.

The cloud gazer raised an eyebrow questioningly. "So are you and Sakura together now?"

Sasuke let out a breath before answering. "No, but we have _both _decided to take care of Tsuki instead of pushing her into the foster system."

Shikamaru gave an understanding nod and leaned back into his chair.

"Why _aren't_ you and Sakura together?" Neji asked with a smirk.

"Why aren't you and Tenten?" Sasuke smirked back and Neji's smirk fell into a glare.

"Touché." He said and turned his attention back to the game, a little more frustrated then before.

* * *

><p>Once Hinata and Tsuki had returned shortly after the girl's conversation ended they had dinner and watched a movie followed by a game of Truth or Dare, where Sakura had to admit that she was still in love with Sasuke. Tsuki had to lick Ryu's ear. Hinata had to eat a spoon full of peanut butter, jelly and ketchup, and Ino had to confess that she used to dress up as a princess and pretend that Sasuke was her prince charming.<p>

Now it was nine o'clock and Sakura, Tsuki and Ryu were on their way home. Ryu slept soundly on Tsuki's shoulder, while Tsuki held Sakura's hand.

"Sakura?" Tsuki looked up at the pink headed kunoichi with questioning eyes.

"Hmm" Sakura answered looking down at her.

Tsuki averted her eyes to the ground. "Why don't you tell Sasuke how you feel?" She asked softly and Sakura was slightly taken back at the sudden question.

"Well . . . it's complicated." She replied, not really knowing how to answer her question.

Tsuki then looked up at her confused. "Nuh uh, you tell him that you love him, he tells you that he loves you too, and then you get married." She finished with a smile, still looking up at Sakura.

The kunoichi looked at the girl with a raised brow, before she began to giggle.

"Sweetheart" she said catching her breath. "It doesn't work that way."

Tsuki glared up at her. "Why not." She said with a hint of aggravation.

Sakura gave her a small smile. "Something like that takes time. It takes years of dating before people get married."

Tsuki crossed her arms and glared straight ahead. "That's stupid."

Sakura giggled. "You'll understand when you're older."

Tsuki uncrossed her arms and ran to catch up with Sakura who was still walking, all the while in deep thought.

* * *

><p>Once home, Tsuki was the first to run through the door. The light was on so they knew Sasuke was home. She quickly put Ryu down and ran to give him a hug. Sakura was next to enter but much slower than the hyper little girl attached to Sasuke's legs. She laughed softly as she walked towards the two.<p>

"Did you have fun?" Sasuke asked Tsuki once she let go of his legs.

"Yeah, but I had to lick Ryu's ear, it was gross." She said with a disgusted look on her face. Sasuke raised an eye brow and looked up at Sakura.

"We played Truth or Dare." She stated hoping that Tsuki wouldn't go into further details. He nodded in understanding and returned his attention back to the girl.

"I bet all that fun has got you warn out?" He said ruffling her hair.

"Yeah, a little, but I miss Kurochi and Kage." She said with a sad look on her face.

Sakura knelt down in front of her and spoke softly. "I'm sorry honey, is there anything we can do to make you feel better?" Tsuki looked up at her with a smile.

"Yeah" She said sounding a little _too_ happy.

Sasuke looked at her with a raised brow. "Well, what do you want us to do?"

"Come here." She said running off to the kitchen.

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged glances and followed. When the got to the kitchen, Tsuki was standing on one of the chairs so that she was level with them.

"Before I went to bed Kurochi and Kage would always close their eyes and kiss my cheeks at the same time."

Sakura gave her a confused look. "So you want us to do the same?" She asked.

"Yeah, on the count of three, I'll count!" Sakura then looked at Sasuke who shrugged and closed his eyes. She sighed and closed hers as well.

"One, two, THREE" Tsuki shouted then slowly moved her head back so that instead of kissing her cheek, they kissed each other.

Both of their eyes shot open as they straightened themselves back up. Sakura was blushing while Sasuke cleared his through. Sakura glared at Tsuki who was now on the floor laughing uncontrollably.

"Alright Missy, time for bed." Sakura said trying to regain her composure.

"Ok" she said getting off the floor and running up the stairs to her room quickly, smiling the whole way.

"I cannot believe she played us like that." Sakura said disbelievingly looking at Sasuke who chuckled slightly.

"What are you laughing at?" She asked as she pushed the chair around, that Tsuki had been standing on, and took a seat at the table. Sasuke walked over and got the pot out and filled it with water.

"You have to admit, the girls good." He replied with a smirk setting the pot on the stove and turning it on.

"Yeah, but I can't believe we actually fell for it." She said shaking her head laughing.

Sasuke walked back to the table and sat in front of the pinkette. "So how was the interrogation?" He asked, still smirking.

Sakura smiled in relief. "Better than I thought it would be."

"See, I told you it wouldn't be so bad." He smiled and companion laughed.

"Yeah, and I found out that when we were little, Ino used to dress up like a princess and pretend you were her prince charming?" She finished not being able to contain her laughter.

Sasuke on the other hand was less amused and more freaked out. Sakura noticed her friends' weird facial expression and tried to calm herself down. "You don't have to worry. She doesn't feel that way about you anymore."

He gave her a skeptical look. "Are you sure?" He asked feeling a little worried anyway.

"Yeah, she's had a thing for Shikamaru for a while now, so you're safe." She smiled to reassure him.

He sighed in relief. "That's go-"He was caught off by the whistle of the tea pot. Sakura stood up and gave him a smile.

"I'll get it." She said walking over to the whistling pot. Sasuke stayed in his seat as she got the glasses and sat them on the table, pouring in the scolding water.

"So how was your night?" She said sitting back down at the table.

"Hn" was his only reply.

Sakura glared at him slightly. "And here I thought you grew out of that." She said sarcastically. Smirking he shook his head.

"It was boring" he replied before going into more detail. "I played chess with Shikamaru and Neji while watching Naruto and Kiba fight over a game controller." He stated flatly and took a sip of his tea.

Sakura laughed "It sounds like you had fun."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm such a horrible author :( I am so sorry for making you all wait so long. I hope this little "accidental kiss" will make up for it ^_^' lol btw thank you Pockykiss for this idea.<strong>

**Now that schools started back I'm hoping I get to update faster but I'm not going to promise anything because you never know lol and again I apologize for the ridiculously long wait.**

**Thank you so much my loyal reviewers**

**DawnCervants**

**Kitten9322**

**Pockykiss**

**Jae0714**

**TheGirlWhoIsInLoveWithJapan**

**sasukeXXXsakura15**

**Lil'cuppyCAKEZ**

**ShnieseAce**

**epicstory**

**Ryukyu Girl**

**onetikakawachi**

**Nox Maltid**

**Royal Duke Armadillor III**

**apple21**

**XxlizziexcielxX**

**TurtleDovesRule**

**.us**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Edited: 7/2/14 **(Ugh, my writing style was horrible!)_

_**Chapter 9**_

_It was pitch black, he couldn't see anything. _

_'Sasuke' He heard a gental voice whisper. _

_'Sasuke' _

_'W__here are you?' He asked, not knowing where the voice was coming from or who it belonged to. _

_'protect her' the voice whispered, echoing into the distance._

_ 'Who are you? Who do you want me to protect?' He cried softly into the darkness._

_Suddenly there was a flash of light and when he opened his eyes he saw Kurochi standing a few feet away with her head down. It looked like they were in the middle of a forest. _

_'Kurochi?' he asked not really sure of what he was seeing. Kurochi's head slowly rose up and in a flash she transformed into Tsuki._

_Her eyes were a dull and lifeless, and she was covered in blood. _

_'why didn't you protect her?' she asked in a voice so low Sasuke barely heard her. _

_To say he was confused was an understatement. He didn't know what the hell was going on. Then Tsuki stepped aside and pointed behind her._

_There lying on the ground was Sakura, bloody and broken, it didn't even look like she was breathing. Right then his heart his felt like it stopped. Confusion was now replaced by panic and fear. He quickly ran to her side and knelt down to feel for a pulse. _

_Nothing. _

_She was so cold._

_ 'Sakura' He said cupping her cheek softly with his left hand._

_Sadness began to take over. His body started to shake as tears began to flow down his face. _

_'Sakura, I'm so sorry' He whispered grabbing her hand and holding it tightly. _

_Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He took his free hand and put it to his shirt, it felt warm and wet. He looked down to find his shirt covered in blood. His blood._

'F_oolish little brother' a voice said from behind him. _

_Sasuke quickly turned his head to see Itachi standing a few feet away with a sword in his hand covered with blood. _

_'Bastard!' Sasuke seethed._

_ He tried to stand and activate his sharingan but couldn't move. His blood was quickly draining from open wound in his chest and back. Slowly his vision started to blur and his body was giving out._

Sasuke quickly jolted up right in a cold sweat. Panting, he glanced around the room. Realizing he was home in his bed, he breathed a sigh of relief. Standing up, he soundlessly mqde his way to the door.

He glanced at Sakura's door and headed straight for the kitchen. Grabbing a cup, he poured himself a glass of water. Drinking it quickly he placed the glass into the sink and headed back to his room. Once he got to his door he paused and looked across the halls at Sakura's room. After thinking for a minute he slowly walked over and gently opened the door to her room.

It was around two in the morning so it was still dark, but the bright moon lit up the room so he could see her clearly. She was lying on her side facing him, only half covered and one arm under her pillow. He smiled, she was beautiful, she was safe, and seemingly sound asleep, and that's all that mattered to him.

Closing the door softly he quietly made his way back to his room, his nightmare slowly fading as he drifted back to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning came quickly. They had gotten up early, ate breakfast, and were now on their way to school.<p>

"Why does school have to be so early?" Tsuki asked tiredly, walking slowly beside Sakura.

The pink haired ninja glanced down at the poor girl.

"Don't worry two more days and you can sleep in."

Tsuki looked up at her with confusion.

"Why?"

"Because you get weekend's off, silly." She answered, slightly giggling at the girl.

"Oh, I wish today was a weekend." Tsuki sighed making Sasuke smirk

"Don't we all." He stated, sharing a look with Sakura who smiled at him.

The rest of the walk was in silence and once they were at the gate Sakura bent down to Tsuki's level.

"Alright, we'll see you around three. Have fun ok." She said giving the girl a hug.

"And stay safe." Sasuke added ruffling the girl's hair.

"Ok, ok, bye" She smiled and ran towards the school.

They waited for Tsuki to enter the school before they both turned to walk away. Sakura looked over at Sasuke and smiled.

"So, what do you want to do now?" She asked walking beside him.

He shrugged and looked over at her. "Train"

Sakura frowned.

"We always train, can't we do something else?"

Sasuke smirked at her.

"Sure. . . after we train."

Sakura laughed "Ok, fine"

"Sasuke?" Sakura tried to get his attention.

They had spent a few hours training and then took separate showers and now they were both sitting on the couch. Sakura was sitting cross legged on one end facing Sasuke who was sitting upright on the other end with his arms crossed.

"Hn" he looked over at her.

"Why were you standing in my doorway last night?" She asked cocking her head to the side.

"You were awake?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Sort of, I was awake enough to know you were there." She answered still looking at him questioningly.

"Oh . . . I had a bad dream." He answered softly looking down at the floor.

Sakura got a look of concern and gently uncrossed her legs and turned to sit closer beside him.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" She asked gently.

He looked over and smirked at her.

"Apparently you were already awake." He said jokingly.

"But you didn't know that" She said defensively.

Sasuke uncrossed his arms and turned his head to face her.

"I was just making sure you were safe." He answered truthfully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, making her blush slightly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked him, not sure what his answer would be.

"I don't really remember the dream that well. The only thing I remember is that you were hurt badly and I wasn't there to protect you." He sighed "This place brings back a lot of bad memories, but I'll be ok." He finished smiling over at her.

"Sasuke" she said softly and embraced him in a gentle hug.

This was the first time she had hugged him since he returned to the village, and like the last time, he hugged her back.

"The next time you have a nightmare, wake me up." She said hugging him tighter.

"Ok, I will." He said as they broke apart.

"Promise?" She asked smiling softly at him.

"I promise." He replied.

They stared lovingly into one another's eyes before the moment was ruined by Ryu who jumped on Sasuke's lap, causing him to look at the fur ball. Unlike the last time the cat jumped on his lap, this time Sasuke pet him on the head. Sakura was a little shocked by his action.

"I thought you didn't like him?" she questioned.

Sasuke shrugged and looked at her.

"He makes you happy, I like seeing you happy, so he's ok." He said and looked back down at the cat purring in his lap.

Sakura smiled as a blushed kept up to her cheeks once more.

* * *

><p>Tsuki sat quietly at her desk waiting for her tern to give a definition speech. Her class had to pick two things and tell what they are or mean. She had picked wolves and cats, the two things she knew most about, but most of the class had pick things like pencil and paper or shirt and shoes. She was listening carefully to Yuka Takashi who was defining a Mommy and Daddy.<p>

"A Mommy is someone who loves you, takes care of you, and feeds you, and fixes your sores, and a Daddy is someone who, loves you and takes care of you too, and gives you piggy back rides, and hugs you, and tells you stories, and. . . and. . . oh, and he loves mommies too." She finished and quickly ran back to her set.

This got Tsuki thanking. '_A Mommy, Sakura loves me and takes care of me. She fixes me breakfast and dinner, and she made my knee better the first time I saw her.'_

_'A Daddy, hmm, Sasuke loves and takes care of me too. He gives me piggyback rides all of the time, he gives me hugs, and tells me bedtime stories, and. . . . I think he loves Sakura.'_

_'My mommy's gone . . . so . . . are you allowed to have a new mommy and daddy? But moms and dads have to be married.'_

_'Mommy told me her and my daddy were married before he died . . . so now I have to get Sakura and Sasuke married so they can be my new mom and dad.' _

Her Train of thought was interrupted by the teacher calling her name. It was time for her to give her speech so she would think about this latter.

* * *

><p>Sakura and Sasuke sat silently along the side of the school gate patiently waiting for Tsuki to get out. Sakura looked over at Sasuke who was sitting next to her.<p>

"We're going to have to go grocery shopping again." She stated, giving him a tired look.

Sasuke looked at her with a sigh. She was right, he had forgotten about it or they would have done it while Tsuki was in school.

He looked up and thought for a moment before turning his head back in her direction.

"Do you think Naruto is busy?"

"Probably not, Tsunade likes to start early so she can spend her afternoons drinking. Our training was usually over about now, and I know she doesn't trust him to train alone, so yeah, he should be free." She replied.

He just smirked and shook his head.

They were distracted from their conversation by Tsuki, who had just came through the gate and spotted them. She smiled and walked over to them sitting down in the small space between them making both Sakura and Sasuke smile.

"So what are we going to do today?" She asked looking up at her guardians.

Sakura laughed and looked down at the little girl.

"_We_" She said motioning towards her and Sasuke. "Are going grocery shopping while _you_" She pointed at the girl. "Are going to hang out with Naruto until we're done."

Tsuki looked at Sakura with a big grin. '_That's perfect!_' She thought to herself, she didn't really know Naruto all that well but Hinata was the one who told her that Sakura liked Sasuke, so maybe they can help her get her 'mommy-and-daddy-to-be' together.

"Ok, let's go!" She said excitedly getting up and turning back to them.

She grabbed both of their hands and tried to pull them both up at once. Sakura giggled as they both stood up.

"Are you that excited to see Naruto?" She said as they started walking down the street, Tsuki still holding on to both of their hands.

Tsuki looked up at her with a toothy grin. "Yeah, I haven't really got to know him yet, but I can tell we're gonna be best friends."

This made both Sasuke and Sakura stop in their tracks and knit their brow in confusion. Tsuki stopped and looked up at the two innocently.

"what?"

Sasuke, being the first to break the confusion chuckled. "How do you know you're going to be best friends?"

Tsuki smiled up at him. "Because, he's you two's best friend silly."

Sakura giggled. "She has a point." She said looking over at Sasuke.

"Yeah, your right." He shrugged his shoulders and then started to walk again.

* * *

><p>Sakura slowly made her way down the aisle examining the contents of the shelves carefully. Sasuke walked up to the buggy and placed the milk and bread Sakura had asked him to get inside.<p>

"Hmm, which do you think Tsuki would like lasagna or spaghetti?" Sakura asked eyeballing the pasta boxes.

Sasuke raised his brow at her. "It's Tsuki, that kid will eat anything." He stated with a smirk and walked over beside Sakura. He grabbed both boxes and threw them into the cart. Sakura smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Of course, how could I forget?"

* * *

><p>Tsuki had only been with Naruto for 30 minutes but she could already tell that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. She was upset at first because Hinata wasn't there, but Naruto had brought up food, which made her hungry, and now they were at the table eating ramen together while Naruto told her stories about his missions.<p>

"So, is there anything you want to do?" Naruto asked once he finished his story and both of their bowls were empty.

"Yes" Tsuki said a little too quickly. "I want you to help me get Sakura and Sasuke together!" She stated grinning ear to ear.

Naruto gave her a confused look, which made Tsuki sigh.

"I've already made them accidently kiss and hold hands but they still aren't married yet." She said lowering her head in a defeat. "I need help, please." She finished looking up at him pleadingly.

Once realization dawned on Naruto he smiled softly at Tsuki and turned in his chair to face her. "Look Tsuki, you ca-wait . . . how did you make them kiss?" He asked with a confused smile.

"I pretended to be sad and told them that Kage and Kurochi used to close their eyes and kiss my cheeks at the same time, but when they went to do it I moved so they kissed each other instead of me." She explained with a giggle.

"That's pretty clever." He laughed, and then cleared his throat trying to be serious. "Ok back to what I was going to say. Tsuki you can't force them to be together, believe me I've tried. You just have to sit by and let it happen on its own."

Tsuki sighed again and mentally scratched Naruto off of her help-get-Sakura-and-Sasuke-together list. "Ok, fine."

Naruto smiled feeling accomplished with his advice. "So what do you want to do instead?"

Tsuki perked up at her sudden thought. "Let's play Truth or Dare but without the truth part." She said jumping out of her seat.

"So we just take turns daring each other to do stupid stuff?" He asked still in his seat.

"Yeah" She answered shaking her head excitedly.

"Alright!" Naruto shouted "Finally some who wants to do stupid stuff with me, come on lets go to the living room." He jumped out of his seat with equal excitement and they both ran to the next room laughing.

* * *

><p>Sakura and Sasuke had finished their shopping and dropped off the groceries at their place and were now making their way to Naruto's house to pick up Tsuki. The walk had been peaceful up until a flyer on the window of a nearby shop had caught Sakura's attention.<p>

"Oh, Sasuke look!" She said running up the window to look at the piece of paper more closely.

"There's a carnival coming to Konoha this weekend." She said looking the flyer over.

"and?" Sasuke said walking up to stand beside her.

Sakura rolled her eyes and hit him playfully. "We should go. I've never been to one before, and it will be a great surprise for Tsuki. Come on Sasuke it'll be fun, please." She said giving him the puppy-dog-look and emphasizing the 'please'.

Sasuke looked into her bright emerald eyes. They shinned so brightly in the setting sun. He couldn't say no to that.

"Sure, why not." He said giving her a soft smile.

"Yes! It's going to be so much fun. We can ride the Farris wheel and eat cotton candy and OH! And fireworks!" She exclaimed looking at him excitedly.

Sasuke had to laugh at her enthusiasm. Well more like chuckle, because he would never lose his composure around so many people, he had a reputation to protect after all.

"How about we leave early Saturday morning and we'll stay all day?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"Yeah that sounds great." She answered and looked up at the sky.

It wasn't quite dark but it would be soon. The sun was quickly disappearing and the moon was more visible in the almost night sky.

"We better hurry before it gets too dark." She said looking over to her partner who gave her a nod and they started down the street to Naruto's house.

"I can't believe it took us that long to shop for groceries." She added with a tiered laugh.

"Well we didn't really know what we were looking for. It took us 15 minutes alone just to figure out what kind of cheese to get." He defended giving her a glance.

"Yeah who knew there were so many options?" She stated as they approached Naruto's door.

Sakura stepped forward and softly knocked on the door.

"I'll get it!" They herd Tsuki shout from the other side. She was giggling like crazy as she quickly ran to the door, which made Sakura and Sasuke smile at each other.

They were both glad she was having fun, but their smiles quickly vanished when the girl opened the door and they got a good look at her. Her face was covered in peanut butter, she had cotton balls up her nose, and socks on her hands. As soon as she saw the frowns on her guardians' faces her excitement drained.

"Tsuki, who is it?" Naruto yelled walking to the door but stopping in his tracks once he saw the looks on Sakura and Sasuke's faces.

The two looked up at Naruto and Sasuke's frown quickly went to a smirk. Naruto had a marker mustache, stupid written on his forehead, bows in his hair, and socks on his hands also.

"Naruto, what in the world happened?" Sakura asked trying to stifle a laugh.

"Well, we were playing Truth-or-Dare." The blonde answer innocently.

"But without the boring truth part." Tsuki added trying to help Naruto out.

"Alright well, let's get you cleaned up before we head home. Naruto will you go get me a wet washcloth and a towel?" Sakura said bending down on one knee to Tsuki's level and taking the socks off her hands.

"So, you're not mad?" Tsuki asked with a frown.

"No of course not sweetie, you were just playing a game." She replied pulling the cotton balls out of the child's nose.

"And besides no one got hurt and there was no permanent damage." Sasuke added with a smile, ruffling the girl's hair.

"Speak for yourself, this was a permanent marker!" Naruto exclaimed handing the washcloth and towel to Sakura and pointing to his face which made Tsuki giggle.

Sakura quickly washed the girls face off and handed Naruto the peanut buttered towel and washcloth which he just threw to the side. He'd get it latter, he told himself.

"Alright let's get you home, you have school in the morning." Sakura said standing up from her crouched position on the floor. They quickly said their goodbyes to Naruto then tiredly headed home.

* * *

><p>Turning in her bed Sakura began to stare out her window. She had went to bed about two hours ago tired but now it seem her thoughts won't let her go to sleep. At first her mind was racing with excitement but after a while her train of thought led to a more depressing place.<p>

Tossing her blanket to the side she quickly rose to her feet and walked over to her door, after a quick tiptoe across the hall she quietly opened the door and stepped into Sasuke's room. The room was dark but she knew exactly were his bed was so she quietly made her way over to his bedside. Before she could even ask if he was still awake the lamp on the nightstand lit up. Startled, she took a step back but let out a sigh of relief once she saw Sasuke sitting up in his bed staring at her.

"You scared the shit out of me." She said placing her hand over her pacing hart.

"What are you doing sneaking into my room in the middle of the night?" He asked with a smirk.

"I. . .couldn't sleep." She said trying to get rid of the blush that was creeping up to her cheeks.

"Come on" He said patting the empty space next to him.

She walked around the bed, set down, and pulled the cover over her legs.

"So, what's wrong?" he asked softly as he piled the pillows against the headboard so they could lean back.

"Well. . . it's just. . . I don't know, now that I think about it. . . it. . . kind of seems stupid." She said lowering her head.

Sasuke gently took his finger and put it under her chin to make her look up at him. "Sakura, it's not stupid if it's bothering you so bad you can't sleep." He said as he moved his hand away from her chin and placed it back at his side.

"Yeah I guess you're right." She said as she shrugged a shoulder.

She looked back over at him and he nodded his head, urging her to go on. Letting out a sigh she began her explanation.

"It's about Tsuki . . . I mean I know we've had this conversation before but since then I've thought of a lot of things that could get in the way of Tsunade letting us adopt her, like the fact that she's not from here or the fact that we found her on a mission, and that we're not married, we don't even live together, I mean, what are we going to do once the missions over and I go back to my apartment an—"

"Move in with me." Sasuke interrupted, stopping her mid run-on sentence.

"What?" Sakura asked looking at him in disbelief. Did he just say what she thought he just said?

"I said move in with me."

Yep, that's what she thought he said.

"You, me, and Tsuki can live here. If you legally move in now hopefully it will make things easier when our month is up. We can even put the house in both of our names."

Sakura still staring at him in disbelief was trying to gain her composure.

"You would seriously do that?" She asked still a little dumbfounded.

"Of course, it's nice having someone around the house. The compound doesn't seem so lonely and depressing anymore, and besides, I want to keep Tsuki here as much as you do." Sasuke finished and they both looked at each other with warm smiles, then Sakura began to laugh.

"You know . . . it's crazy, we've only known that girl for a little over two weeks now and already I can't picture life without her."

Sasuke gave a slight chuckle and nodded in agreement. "Come on, let's lay down." Sasuke said scooting down and readjusting the pillows.

Sakura quickly complied and pulled the blanked up and lied down turning on her side to face him. They both laid there and talked until they quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>I am so sorry for the long awaited update, my computer screen broke and it took me FOREVER to get it fixed :( again I apologize. I'm going to try to update quicker but I can't promise anything. I've got a lot going on in my life that I'm sure you don't want to hear about lol, but don't give up on me yet this story(plus a possible squeal) WILL get finished I don't care how long it takes!<strong>

**But anyway a Special thanks goes out to my Reviewers lol I appreciate your patience and I don't blame you if you stop reading.**

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**They're in no specific order and I'm sorry for any misspellings AND let me know if I missed you or you've changed your name! So I can correct it in the next chapter. If you don't let me know I will continue to use the names above.**

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	10. Chapter 10

**Edited: 10/16/14 **_(still just fixing the paragraphing -_-;)_

**_Disclaimer:_ I do not own Naruto or any of the characters associated with it. I own Tsuki, Kage, and Kurochi. This goes for all future and past chapters that I will and have forgotten to put a disclaimer in. lol  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 10<span>**

"Where are we going?" Tsuki asked for the hundredth time.

"Eat your breakfast and you'll see when we get there." Sakura smiled as she poured the girl a glass of milk.

Tsuki sighed and decided to give up as the delicious scent of bacon and eggs filled her nostrils.

It was early Saturday morning and Tsuki was frustrated that her soon to be parents woke her up early on her first day off from school, and to beat it all they won't even tell her where they're going. The only thing she knew was that for the past few days Sakura seemed a little too happy-go-lucky and Sasuke kept telling her to contain her excitement. So instead of wasting her energy pestering the two, she was just going to eat and find out when they get there.

It didn't take long for them to finish there breakfast. Sasuke done the dishes while Sakura made sure Ryu had enough food and water to do him all day. About thirty minutes later they were heading down the streets of Konoha when a long haired blonde spotted them from across the street.

"Hey Sakura!" Ino yelled as she ran towards them, stopping a few feet away.

"Are you guys going to the carna-" before she could get the last word out Sakura clamped her hand around Ino's mouth, by that time Shikamaru had silently appeared beside the two.

"Yeah but it's a surprise." Sakura said slowly removing her hand from her mouth.

"Oh, well me and Shikamaru were just heading that way do you mind if we tag along?" She asked pointing to the cloud gazer, who was standing there with his hands in his pockets.

Sakura looked over to Sasuke who gave her a shrug.

"Sure." She said turning back to the blond with a smile.

The rest of the walk there was mostly filled with small talk between the blonde and pinkette with the exception of Tsuki asking Sasuke for a piggyback ride. Once they made it to the entrance Tsuki practically jumped off Sasuke's back and stared wide-eyed at the sight before her.

"What is this place?" she asked in amazement.

"It's a carnival." Sakura answered her, trying not to giggle. Just seeing the excitement grow in the girl was enough to make her smile.

"Come on, I'm sure it's more fun inside than standing around out here." She said grabbing the girls hand and heading to the front entrance.

After they paid for the tickets and made their way through the gates, Sakura bent down on one knee in front of Tsuki.

"Tsuki, now there are a lot of people here and it's very easy to get lost, so I don't want you to run off by yourself OK. You stay with one of us at all times." She said motioning to the group around them.

"Alright." The girl said nodding her head. Sakura smiled and turned to Sasuke as she stood.

"So where too first?"

"Me and Shikamaru are gonna go see if we can find everyone else, how about we all meet at the picnic tables at noon for lunch? Naruto said something about wanting to have a group picnic." Ino asked trying to make a mental note of everyone who said they were going to be here.

"Sure that sounds great." Sakura replied looking to Sasuke and Tsuki who both nodded in agreement.

"Ok then we'll see you in a few hours." She said as they both waved good-bye and disappeared into the crowed.

It was early in the day so it wasn't very crowded, just a few groups of people arond and first ride they came to Tsuki quickly pulled the two into the short line.

"Come on this one looks fun."

The ride was called 'The Tilt-a-whirl'. It had egg shaped bucket seats that spun around in a wavy circle. The guy that runs the machine escorted them to one of the seats and once they were in, he fastened the latch tight. Tsuki was on Sakura's left side, practacly bouncing with excitement, while Sasuke was on Sakura's other side watching the girls with amusement.

The ride started out slow, but after a few minutes the speed picked up and the bucket started spinning fast. Sakura screamed and latched on to Sasuke's arm while Tsuki laughed and yelled faster. Sasuke couldn't help the chuckle that escaped as he looked at the frightened girl beside him.

Once that ride ended they wound up at the 'Farris-wheel' they were almost at the top when Tsuki looked around in disappointment.

"This one don't spin?" she asked with a frown.

"Nope." Sakura smiled down a the girl.

This time Tsuki was in between the two as they slowly rose up in the cart of the machine.

"Woah! Look!" she shouted trying to stand up, causing the cart to rock. Sakura and Sasuke jumped in alarm.

"You can see our house from here!"

"Tsuki sit down, your gonna fall" Sakura said trying to hold on to the side and grab for her at the same time.

"And the academy!" She ducked away from Sakura and leaned over Sasuke. "Oh and look, there's Naruto with Hinata!"

Sasuke took this opportunity to grab her and sit her back in between the two as the ride slowly started to come back down.

"Wow that was so cool!" She said looking at Sakura who looked as if she would have a heart-attack any minute now.

"Yeah, but next time, stay in you seat." She said with a sigh of relief.

"Sorry" she said rubbing the back of neck with smile.

* * *

><p>Within the next few hours they had already ridden over half of the rides in the park. Most of which either spun around the entire time or done loop-de-loops in midair. Sakura was beginning to get dizzy so they had walked over to some of the game stands. None of the stands looked that interesting but one prize really caught Tsuki's attention. It was a stuffed white cat that kinda looked like a Teddy Bear. She immediately ran over to the stand with Sakura and Sasuke close behind.<p>

"How do you win one of the prizes?" She asked the guy managing the counter.

"Well little Missy for a small price I'll give you five darts and if you poop two balloons you get a small prize, three balloons will get you a medium prize, and if you poop five balloons I'll let you pick anything you want from my stand." The man said with a grin.

"And no offense, but none of the stands here are allowed to let ninja play the game, if we did we'd all go broke." He said with a laugh as he motioned to Sasuke and Sakura's headbands.

"That's understandable." Sakura replied with a smile.

"But since this little lady isn't old enough to be a ninja, she can play, it's just mommy and daddy can't win it for her." He continued with a smirk.

Tsuki giggled and looked over to Sasuke.

"So, Daddy, can I play?" She asked jokingly emphasizing the 'daddy'.

The man behind the counter didn't get the joke but Sakura and Tsuki were giggling like crazy. Sasuke on the other hand froze a little, he had never been called daddy before even if it was a joke.

"Uh yeah sure." He quickly shook off his surprise and handed the man the fee. The guy handed Tsuki five darts and move over to the side so she could see the balloons.

She took the five darts one at a time and quickly pooped a balloon with each one. All three of the adults looked at the girl in shock. She just shrugged.

"What? I have good aim." The man at the counter saw the surprised look on the two ninjas faces, so they obviously didn't teach her how to aim. '_This girl is gonna make one hell of a ninja someday_' the man thought as walk back over in front of the girl.

"Well, you can have anything you want." He said motioning towards the giant teddy bears.

"I want that one." Tsuki said pointing to the stuffed cat, it was on the medium prize shelf and not as big as the teddy bears hanging up.

"Are you sure?" He asked in disbelief. Any other kid would have wanted the biggest prize he had.

"Yeah" She replied excitedly. The man got the cat down from the shelf and handed it to her. She quickly engulfed the stuffed cat with a bear hug.

"Well it's almost noon so let's head over to the picnic area." Sakura said looking at a clock on the wall of a nearby stand.

* * *

><p>"Wow, did you see that little girl over there with those darts?" A hefty man asked his skinnier friend. They were running on of the games across the street but were now taking a lunch break.<p>

"Better yet, did you see her eyes?" He replied looking at his partner with a mischievous grin.

"Umm no." He said scratching his head and taking a bit of his sandwich.

"They were green, a jade green. Do you know what that means?" The slim man asked with a raised brow.

"Umm she has pretty eyes?" He said questioningly looking over at him.

"No you dolt!" He said angerly, hitting him upside the head.

"Remember that man that hired us to find a little girl, but when we got to where she was the whole village was up in smokes?" He asked digging into his bag for a scroll.

"He said his ninja were able to find her but were all killed by a couple of wolves. He was gonna give us a lot of money for that kid. He was furious when we told him what happened to the village. Just imagine how much money he'll offer us for her now. We'll never have to run a stupid stand at a damn carnival for money again." He laughed as he found the scroll he had been looking for. He examined it closely reading the description thoroughly.

"Black hair, jade eyes, she's the right age." He was mentally checking off the list.

"But Kio, I didn't see any wolves with her." Kio was obviously the smarter one. Kio ran his hair through his dark yellow locks.

"That just makes it easier for us. Toki, those two ninja must have found the little girl before the village was destroyed. I don't care what they did to the mutts." Toki was dumb, but he had muscle. That's the only reason Kio still keep him around. Kio was buff but scrawny compared to the bear of a man Toki was.

"I recognize that one ninja as an Uchiha. I've only been to Konoha a few times but from what I here they have there own little town in the village. They shouldn't be to hard to find. Well scout out the place tonight." Kio told Toki as they got up and headed back to their stand were new customers awaited.

* * *

><p>The trio finally arrived at the picnic area only to be greeted by the loud yells of two blondes arguing.<p>

"Why didn't you bring any food you jackass!?"

"Why was I supposed to bring the food?!"

"Naruto, it was your stupid idea to have the damn picnic!"

"So!... I didn't know I was supposed to bring ALL of the food, Ino!"

" But you didn't bring ANYTHING!"

They came in just in time to hear the argument, that would have continued if Sakura wouldn't have interrupted.

"Guys! You mean nobody brought any food?" She asked looking around in disbelief.

The whole group that consisted of: Ino, Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, and Tenten, either scoffed or looked away in sham. Sakura sighed and thought for a minute in silence. Then her head snapped up quickly causing the group to look her.

"I have an idea." Ehe said looking over the group carefully. "Naruto, you, Ino, and Sasuke come with me. Tsuki, I want you stay here with the group ok, don't leave this area unless you're with someone from the group. The rest of you guys wait here and make sure Tsuki doesn't get into any trouble." She gave the orders and then motioned for Sasuke, Naruto, and Ino to follow her.

They quickly started to walk toward the exit of the carnival when Sakura stop abruptly and turned to face Sasuke.

"Do you remember me telling you about the grill I had in the apartment storage?" She asked taking a step toward him.

"Yeah, that was one of the last things we were going to move from your apartment to the compound." He replied sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Well it's just been promoted to the top of the list." Sakura said with a smile.

"Ino and I are gonna go buy food while you and Naruto get the grill, we'll just take it home with us when we're finished." She said, walking over to Ino.

"Come on, we'll meet you guys back at the picnic tables." Sakura drug away a shocked looking Ino while Naruto gave Sasuke a weird look.

* * *

><p>Ino waited to say anything until they were safely away from the boys.<p>

"Ok girl, spill it." She said giving Sakura an accusing look.

"What are you taking about?" Sakura asked faking an innocent smile.

"Ha ha, you know what I'm talking about" Ino laughed sarcastically as they continued down the streets of Konoha.

Sakura smile mischievously.

"I'll tell you my story when you tells me yours." The pinkette said crossing her arms with a smirk.

The blonde blushed slightly and looked away.

"I don't know what your talking about." She stated looking at anything but Sakura.

"Oh, come on. Ino, you're blushing!" She said trying not to giggle.

Ino let out an aggravated sigh.

"Alright,alright." She said as she looked around.

They were now walking down the Konoha streets. She was seeing if anyone she knew was around. Judging that the cost was clear she started her story.

"Well, nothing official yet, but yesterday Tsunade wanted me to tell Shikamaru that that the team had the next few days off. We've been doing some hardcore missions the past months and she told us to enjoy ourselves for a little while. I eventually found him at his favorite cloud gazing spot 'Surprise, Surprise'" She said sarcastiy waving a hand.

"I was fully planing to walk up to him, kick him in the head, and tell him that he could stay her and daydream for the next few days."

Sakura laughed knowing were this was going.

"Our advice?" She asked Ino.

"Yes, when I got there it swam around in my head like little fishy's in a water bowl. So instead I just walked over and layed down beside him. It was actually kinda funny." She giggled as they walked into the grocery store.

"He turned his head to look at me with this really cute confused look on his face, like he was actually expecting me to kick him in the head."

Sakura had laugh at that. Knowing Shikamaru he was probably ready for everything but her joining him on the roof.

"So I just flashed him a smile and looked back up to the sky. We stayed like that for what felt like hours, I almost fell asleep, I don't know how he dose it." She said grabbing grabbing a verity of vegetables.

"What all are we going to get?" She asked looking into the shopping cart that Sakura had grabbed on their way in. All it had in it were hotdog buns, weenies, ketchup, onions, mustered, relish, and two containers of chili and slaw.

"Well, I got everything we'd need for hotdogs, you got the vegetables for the shish-kabobs... Hmm what else are going cook?" Sakura answered with a question.

"I guess that's it. Oh I'm gonna get some fish for the shish-kabobs, hotdogs aren't really good for the body." She said flipping her ponytail and walking over to the next aisle. Sakura smiled and rolled her eyes as she followed the blonde.

"Alright finish your story." Sakura said getting Ino back on track of the previous conversation.

"Oh yeah, right. So anyway, after a while he finally started a conversation. We talked for hours, we even watched the sun set, it was so romantic." She said putting her hands together with a dreamy look in her eyes, then shook it off to continue.

"I eventually told him what I originally went there to tell him and went to leave, but he stopped me to ask if I wanted to go to the carnival. I said sure, kissed him on the cheek and went home. Leaving him speechless and blushing." She finished with a smirk.

* * *

><p>After the girls left, Sasuke ignored the weird look Naruto was giving him and started to walk in the direction of Sakura's apartment hands still in his pockets. Naruto quickly ran to catch up.<p>

"Sasuke, what the hell? Are you and Sakura moving in together?" He asked slowing down to walk beside the raven haired ninja.

"Yes" was Sasuke's only reply.

Naruto's face brightened up.

"So are you and Sakura finally together?" He asked with a grin.

"No" was the one word reply again.

Naruto gave him another confused look.

"Why the hell not?!" Naruto stopped to yell.

Sasuke give him an aggravated glare then continued on walking.

Naruto scoffed and walked back up beside him.

"Tell me how two people can move in together, plan to raise a child, and NOT start a relationship!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke stopped and turn to him.

"Look! It's not like I haven't tried!" Sasuke seethed, taking his hands out of his pockets.

"I've kissed her! We stay up late just to talk over a cup of tea! I've asked her to move in with me! I've even fl-" he stopped momentarily deciding if he should say the next word. Choosing to, he looked away with a slight blush. "flirted... she just acts like none of it ever happened." He finished softly shaking off the blush and stuck his hands back in his pockets.

Naruto couldn't say anything at first. He just stared at Sasuke with a blank face trying to process the information and disbelief that THE Sasuke uncharacteristically blew up like that AND WAS BLUSHING!

After a minute Naruto let out a small chuckle then smirked at his friend.

"It's kind of ironic isn't it?" He asked rhetorically.

Sasuke just looked away as he remembered all the times he had completely ignored her when they were younger. Regret began to fill in his chest.

"Maybe Sakura's dishing out a little payback." Naruto said with another chuckle.

Sasuke looked back up at him with a glare.

"Sakura's not the kind of person to do that."

Naruto's chuckle turned into a laugh.

"Yeah your right, what was I thinking? But don't worry about it Sasuke, I'm sure she'll come around eventually." He said patting Sasuke's shoulder. The raven haired boy sighed and turned to continue walking. Naruto quickly followed suit.

"So, Sasuke?" He asked putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"This kiss you were talking about, was it a full make out session or did she pull away to quickly for ya?" He questioned him with a perverted grin, wiggling his eyebrows.

Sasuke smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He answered with a question as he push Naruto's hand off his shoulder and continued to walk ignoring the loud blonde the rest of the way to Sakura's apartment.

* * *

><p>Tenten sat at a nearby picnic table twirling a kunia around her fingers boredly in one hand and resting her head in the other. She had only came to the picnic because Ino begged her to. She really wanted to spend the day with Neji, since Guy and Lee are out on a mission and the Tsuki situation has interfered with their assignments, she had Neji all to her self. Or so she thought.<p>

-_flash back to yesterday evening_-

Neji and Tenten were in there usual training area. They had just finished a long training session and Neji was helping her pick up her weapons. He was gathering everything from knives to numb-chucks.

"Thanks, Neji." She said as she pack up the gathered weapons.

"It's no problem, after all, I was the one you were throwing them at." He replied grabbing two water bottles off the ground a tossing her one. She caught it with a laugh as she stud up, then walked over beside him as they slowly made their way into town.

"So, Neji? The Carnival is coming to town tomorrow an I was wondering if we could take the day off and go have some fun together." She asked as they walked down a small path.

"My uncle has me scheduled for a special training with him early in the morning." He said, looking over at at her, he saw the disappointment taking over her features. He immediately regretted telling Hiashi he was free to train with him, so he quickly came up with a solution.

"How about I meet you there after I get through training with Hiashi." He said giving her an apologetic half smile.

Her face brightened up as she smiled back at him.

"Yeah, Ino has been begging me to go to the picnic that Naruto wanted to have, I think she said it was around noon so how bout we meet there then?" She said with that hopeful gleam in her eyes again.

"Sure, that sounds great." He replied giving her real smile.

"Good, it's about time you loosen up and have some fun." She teased giving him a playful push.

"Are you insinuating that training with me isn't fun?" He asked faking a sad look.

"What? No, I love training with you." She stopped and turned to him. "It's just that's all we've been doing for the past few months, either that or hardcore missions. I wanna do something that don't involve projectile weapons and knocking the chakra out of each other." She defended as he started to chuckle.

"I was joking, but you're right. We've been pushing ourselves to hard lately. Everyone, even ninja, need a break every now and then." Neji said putting his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at with a smile as he removed his hand and looked at the sun sinking over the horizon.

"It's starting to get dark, I'll walk you home." He said as they reached the end of the path into town. She gave him a half-hearted glare.

"Neji, I am perfectly capable of walking myself home."

He didn't give her a reply, instead he just gave her a blank stare.

"I know, I know, you've never let me walk home alone in the dark before and you're not gonna do it now." She said waving her hands in defeat.

He gave her a smirk and started to walk in the direction of her apartment. Tenten just giggled as she quickly followed suit.

-_end flash back_-

"Hey, sorry I'm a little late, Hiashi kept me a bit longer than I planed." Neji said taking a seat beside Tenten, interrupting her train of thought. She immediately raised her head to look at Neji who had just joined her at the table.

"No problem I didn't even realize what time it was." She gave him smile.

He half smiled back before scanning the area. Kiba, Hinata, and Tsuki were having a group conversation a few picnic tables away, Shino was leaning against a tree across from them, and Shikamaru was asleep in the tree that Shino was leaning against.

"So, what exactly is going on?" He asked returning his attention to the weapons mistress.

"Naruto planed to have a picnic but no one brought any food, luckily for us Sakura showed up and had an idea. Her, Sasuke, Ino, and Naruto left a little while ago." She said with a huff propping her head up with one of her hands.

"Did she specify what she was doing?" He questioned with a raised brow.

"No" She said and started to laugh. "You know Sakura, she comes up with something and immediately starts barking orders."

Neji gave a slight chuckle "I don't know how many times I've had to explain to her that just because she has an idea doesn't we know what it is." The Huuga said as Tenten laughed.

"Yeah, and Sasuke is the only one that has that weird nonverbal communication thing with her so we're the only ones left in the dark." Tenten commented, sill laughing.

Neji smiled at her.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm actually going to miss having them on our team."

Tenten stopped laughing and looked at him with confusion.

"What do you mean?" She said raising her eyebrow.

Neji chuckled at her expression.

"If they're going to raise Tsuki right, which they've already decided to do, they can't go on crazy-long-life-threatening missions as a team of ANBU anymore." He stated watching the realization sink in on his partners face.

"Oh, I guess you have a point, but now what are we going to do? Do we have to assimilable a whole new team?" She asked with a frustrated sigh. "

We'll figure that out in due time, right now let's just enjoy our day off." He answered then looked in the direction of an on coming guest.

"Hi" Tsuki said once she got to the table.

"Hey, have a seat." Tenten offered motioning for her to sit in front of them.

"Are you having fun?" She asked smiling at the child.

"Yeah, we rode all kinds of rides. There's this one that takes you up so high you can see your house, and another one that goes so fast you can't see anything. Oh, and I even won a stuffed kitty!" She said excitedly as she held her prize up for the two to see.

"Wow, if you're having that much fun now wait until they start the fireworks." Tenten said smiling at the girls excitement.

"What are fireworks?" She said giving her a weird look.

"Umm, well..." She mumbled then looked to Neji for help. She didn't really know how to explain it.

"Fireworks are explosive pyrotechnic devices used for entertainment purposes." Neji answered crossing his arms. Tsuki looked even more confused as Tenten sweat dropped anime stile. Neji just shrugged a shoulder.

"Uh, they're balls of light that shoot in the air and explode into tiny colorful sparkles." Tenten managed to explain.

The child confusion was quickly replaced with more excitement.

"That sounds so cool, when does it start?" She asked practically bouncing in her seat.

"It won't start until after dark." She answered smiling once more at the girls show of excitement.

"Oh" She said wondering why they waited so late to start something that sounds that cool.

* * *

><p>Once the shopping was done Sakura and Ino were on their way back to the carnival, both had bags of food in their hands.<p>

"Alright, your turn." Ino said with a smirk.

Sakura sighed.

"Well, a few nights ago I had trouble sleeping, I kept thinking about Tsunade not letting us keep Tsuki. I mean, there are a million reasons why she wouldn't. So I went over to Sasuke's room to see if he was still awake." at that last part Ino smirked and raised an accusing eyebrow.

Sakura blushed as she tried to glare at the blonde.

"Pervert, nothing happened!" She defended but Ino just chuckled.

"Sure it didn't." She said sarcastically.

Sakura rolled her eyes and continued. "Anyway, we sat on his bed and talked for awhile. We figured our chances on getting to keep Tsuki would be greater if we actually lived together, it would also be a lot easier on her." The pinkette said earning an agreeing nod from her friend.

"So how long did you two stay up '_talking_'?" She said making air quotations with her fingers.

Sakura looked away, blushing again.

"uh... well... for awhile before... umm...we laid down...and I...uh...fell asleep there." She mumbled her blush darkening with every pause.

Ino laughed historically, she almost dropped her bags as she tried to hold her stomach.

Sakura glared at her a started walking again as Ino finally calmed down enough to realize Sakura was leaving her behind.

"Hey wait up!" She shouted running to catch up with her still blushing friend.

Once Ino caught up she finally stopped laughing and Sakura's blush was now starting to fade. Ino readjusted the bags in her hands as she turned her head to Sakura.

"So, let me get this straight. You and Sasuke are now living together, raising a child together, you've kissed, admitted you still loved him, and even shared a bed with him." She said pausing to see Sakura's reaction.

The only reaction she got from the girl was a small glare.

This made Ino huff.

"WHY?! In the name of all things good, are you not together?!" She shouted causing a few passer-byers to stop and look at her strangely. She waved them off as she looked at her friend for an answer.

Sakura stopped and turned to the blonde with a stronger glare.

"Look, it's not that simple. If Sasuke and I were to start an intimate relationship and things don't work out between us, were would that leave Tsuki? She would be torn between the two of us. She doesn't need that kind of emotional stress right now." Sakura explained with a slightly raised voice.

Ino just glared back at her.

"And what if it does? What if you're passing up your last chance at happiness? You and Sasuke together... married... raising Tsuki like a daughter... having little Sakura and Sasuke's of your own." She said softening her voice with every pause.

Sakura huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Ino this isn't a fairytale. There's no such thing as a happily ever after."

Ino huffed and put her bagged hands on her hips.

"Well there damn well should be." She said glaring again.

Sakura's meanwhile faltered into a smile. Leave it to Ino.

"Right now, let me focus an getting custody of Tsuki first, and then I'll worry about mine and Sasuke's relationship. ok?" She asked with a soft tone and a half smile.

Ino thought for a minute before giving in and smiling back.

"Ok but keep me updated on what happens until then. Deal?" She said putting a bag down and extending a hand.

Sakura smiled and also set a bag down.

"Deal." She replied grabbing Ino's out stretched hand to shake.

* * *

><p>"So can I ask you a question?" Tsuki asked her two table companions.<p>

"Sure" Tenten answered while Neji just gave a slight nod.

"Will you two help me get Sakura and Sasuke together?" She asked with all the seriousness a 6 year old could muster.

The two raised an eyebrow and looked at each other simultaneously before Neji stated to smirk as Tenten busted out with laughter. Tsuki crossed her arms and glared at the two. This is the same reaction she got from Naruto. Why dose everyone find it so funny?

"Why do you want those two together?" Neji asked as Tenten slowly stopped laughing.

"Because if they're going to be my new mommy and daddy they need to be married." She said with a sigh.

Tenten gave her a sympathetic look and smiled.

"Ok we'll help, but you can't force two people to be together if they don't want it." She turned to look at Neji who seemed to be in thought before he raised his head.

"The best way to get two people together is to get them to spend time alone together." He said and looked over to Tenten.

"Yeah, so how about after the picnic you can hang out with us while we send Sakura and Sasuke off alone?" She asked and they both looked to Neji for approval.

He gave them a nod and looked over to Tsuki.

"Remember, that just because we give them some space now doesn't mean they'll be together by the end of the day. Something like this takes time. We can help push them in the right direction but only they can decide wither or not to follow it. So don't get your hopes up." Neji said wisely to the young girl.

She gave him an understanding nod as all three shared a smile.

* * *

><p><strong>I am SOOOOOO sorry for the long awaited updated and to make it up to you I've made it my longest chapter yet. I don't know when the next update will be but I'm really trying my best to update quicker. Oh and I'm sorry if I don't reply to a lot of reviews. I read every one of them more than once lol but I'm not sure if it's rude of me not to reply. I'm not trying to be rude I really appreciate every review I get^^ Oh and a another thing. I've seen Neji and Hinata's last name spelled several different ways so can anyone tell me the correct way to spell it? thanks<br>**

**And now thank you to all my reviewers I love everyone of them^^  
><strong>

**EliseDCervantes**

**kitten9322**

**TheGirlWhoIsInLoveWithJapan**

**Jae0714**

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**Can You Make Me Smile XOXO**

**Lil'cuppyCAKEZ**

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**epicstory**

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**apple21**

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**Raikiri80**

**It's a new and improved list so hopefully I got everyone and spelled them all correctly.**

**So, let me know what you guys think, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and please let me know of any corrections to the story that need to be changed.**

**~PsychoNinjaWolf**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters associated with it. I own Tsuki, Kage, and Kurochi. This goes for all future and past chapters that I will and have forgotten to put a disclaimer in. lol**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 11<strong>_

"So, how are you two doing?" Sakura asked Neji and Tenten as her, Sasuke, and Tsuki took a seat across from the two.

Once the rescue group returned with the grill and food, Naruto had volunteered to cook since the whole thing was his idea. It only took a little while before the food was finished and they were all sitting down to eat.

"Great, we've had few weeks free of missions since we found Tsuki but this is actually the first day we've taken off from training." Tenten answered and took a bite of her fish.

"What's the deal with Shikamaru and Ino?" She asked in a low voice as she pointed her fork at the couple who were sitting a little closer than normal.

Sakura chuckled as she, Sasuke, and Tsuki looked in the direction that she was pointing to.

"She said she followed the advice we gave her. They're not officially dating, but he did ask her to come with him today." she said filling the girl in on what Ino had just told her a few moments ago.

"It's about time." Tenten replied and the three girls laughed as the boys shook their heads at the girls gossiping.

The rest of the meal was filled with small talk until Naruto and Kiba got into an argument over roman vs. hotdogs, in which Sakura had to separate the two. After everything calmed down any they were all finished with the food Sakura and Sasuke drug the grill to a nearby tree and used a lock and chain that she always kept with the grill to wrap around the trunk to keep it from getting stolen.

"I knew that would come in handy someday." She said admiring their handy work.

Sasuke chuckled, putting the keys in his pocket as they headed back over to the others.

"Well Tsuki, are you ready to go ride some more rides?" Sakura asked looking over at the girl.

Tsuki looked up at Neji and Tenten then looked back at Sakura.

"I wanna go with them for a little while pleeeease." She asked putting her hands together in a begging style.

"Yeah, after some of the stories Tsuki's told us we figured you could use a break." Tenten spoke up pleading the girls' case.

"Are you sure?" the pinkette asked with a hint of confusion in her voice. Tenten and Neji both nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's no problem. We can meet back here in a few hours that way you all can still watch the fireworks together." Tenten said and Sakura and Sasuke shared a glance before Sakura said it was Ok.

* * *

><p>"Now what?" Sasuke asked once they parted ways with the others.<p>

"Hmm I want to do something relaxing. Oh! Let's try out the Farris Wheel again. We couldn't really enjoy it last time because I thought Tsuki was going to jump out of the cart." Sakura answered looking over at her companion.

"Sure" was his only reply before they headed off in the direction of the ride.

For it being a Saturday afternoon, the park wasn't as crowded as they thought it would be so they got through the line surprisingly quick. Once they were nearing the top, Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep relaxing breath of fresh air as she leaned back in the cart. Sasuke on the other hand was already leaned back with his arms crossed and a foot propped up on one of the bottom railings.

Sakura opened her eyes as they stopped at the top.

"Wow, Tsuki was right. You can see our house from here." She said blushing once she realized that she had said our house, but the blush quickly vanished when she caught a glimpse of something else.

"Sasuke?" she asked still eying the compound.

"Hn" Sasuke replied as he looked over at her with a slight smile. Yep, he noticed she said our house also.

"Why didn't you tell me the Uchiha compound had a Koi pond... and a garden... and is that a training field?" Sakura asked a string of questions as she squinted to see through the grown foliage.

"I didn't think that any of it was still there. I figured it was all grown over." He said looking over to the areas she was referring to.

"Well it sorta is, but it doesn't look too bad."

Sasuke looked it over one good time before turning to Sakura.

"Maybe we can restore it. We can all work on the pond together, and while Tsuki's in school we can work on the training field. We can surprise her with it once we're finished." He suggested looking at each area and judging how much work it would take.

Sakura looked over at him with shock at first, she never thought that Sasuke of all people would suggest a family project, but the shock quickly turned to excitement for the future project.

"That's a great idea." she replied, then gave him a confused glance.

"But what about the garden?"

He averted his attention over to the garden then looked back over to her.

"We can clear it out together, and then it's all yours." He said giving her a smirk.

"Really?" she ask happily but still with a hint of confusion.

"Yeah, the garden belonged to my mother. She grew all sorts of trees and flowers." He said looking down, nostalgia filling his senses. He looked back up into her emerald eyes and continued. "Roses were her favorite, but you can plant anything you want." He finished giving her a smile. Her confusion vanished as she gave him a soft look and smiled back.

He reached up and gently stroked a lock of her hair making her lightly blush.

"I would suggest Cherry Blossom Trees…Sakura." He said referring to her hair color and name. She laughed softly as he let go of the strands of hair and gently brushed her cheek with his fingertips, looking deep into her eyes. They were so warm and loving, but their trance was interrupted by the cart jerking to move forward. He dropped his hand quickly as they both cleared their throats and looked away.

"Umm, thanks. That's very sweet of you." Sakura said after they got off the ride and started to walk around.

"Don't mention it." He said giving her a smirk and sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Hey I have an Idea." She said as a thought rushed into her head.

He looked over at her urging her to continue.

"How about we sneak out and get some dinner for later. I saw a big oak tree near the picnic tables earlier. We can get a blanket to lie down in front of the tree and have a little picnic of our own before the fireworks start." She stated looking over at him for an answer.

"Sure" He replied as they changed directions, heading for the markets.

* * *

><p>To say that Tsuki was having fun was an understatement. She had almost ridden every ride in the park, most of which Neji refused to ride. Tenten told her that it was because he had an image to protect and he couldn't be seen screaming like a little girl on a roller-coaster, which made her laugh, but she didn't care. She was still having fun and that's all that mattered.<p>

Currently the two were watching as Tsuki rode the Marry-Go-Round, waving at them every time she passed by.

"It's amazing how much that girl looks like Sakura and Sasuke." Neji said watching the girl laugh at something a boy on the horse next to her said.

"Yeah but her personality is all Naruto." Tenten replied with a smirk. Neji chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"Ok, where to next?" Tsuki said running up to the couple, both averting their attention to the girl.

"Where ever you want sweetie." Tenten said smiling at the child.

Tsuki smiled back and looked around the place for her next target.

* * *

><p>"Sure you don't want a bit?" Sakura asked her companion as she took a bit of the Funnel Cake he had just bought her.<p>

"I'm sure." He replied sticking one hand in his pocket while carrying the basket with the blanket and the food they had ran out to get earlier in the other.

"I'll give you a piece that doesn't have sugar on It." she suggested pulling off a piece without powder and waving it in front of his face.

"No, you go ahead." he said backing away from her hand.

"Ok, your loss." she said as she popped the piece into her mouth. He just smirked and continued to walk.

"It's starting to dark." Sasuke stated looking over to Sakura who was still happily munching on her cake.

"Yeah, we better head to the picnic tables." She said stopping to see which direction to head.

The walk was quick. They weren't far from their destination. Once they got there they looked around but didn't see the others anywhere, so Sakura went to the first picnic table she saw and sat down on the table and put her feet on the seat as Sasuke followed and sat next to her, putting the basket down on the seat next to their feet. She sat the remainder of the Funnel Cake next to her, deciding to save some for Tsuki, and looked up to the sky.

"Wow the sunset is beautiful." She said watching as the sun sank slowly under the horizon. The sky was painted with pretty oranges, yellows, and pinks that faded into a dark blue.

"Yeah" he said looking over at her. She was still focused on the sky but his eyes couldn't help but linger on her face. It seemed to shine as bright as the setting sun.

She felt him staring so she looked over at him with a smile.

"Did you have fun?" She aske, changing the subject.

He smiled back at her and nodded.

"Of course, did you?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"Mmhmm" She hummed and nodded also.

"There they are!" a still energetic Tsuki hollered as she ran up to the table that the two were sitting on, as Neji and Tenten trailed not too far behind.

Sakura and Sasuke hopped down to stand next to the girl.

"Hey, we missed you." Sakura said bending down and picked her up to give the girl a hug.

"I missed you guys too." She replied into the hug.

Once Tsuki let go, Sakura turned to greet the two babysitters still holding the girl.

"Thank you, I hope she wasn't too much trouble." she said smirking at the girl in her arms playfully.

"No Problem, she wasn't any trouble at all." Tenten said ruffling the girls' hair.

"We had lots of fun, didn't we Tsuki?" She asked smiling.

Tsuki giggled and nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, what do you say to Neji and Tenten for letting you go with them?" Sakura asked smiling down at her.

"Thank You!" She said looking up at the two with a grin.

"You're welcome Sweetie, anytime." Tenten said glancing over to Neji who gave her a half-smile and nodded.

"Well we better go find a good spot before the fireworks start. We'll see you guys later." Tenten said waving good bye.

"Alright bye." Sakura said waving back.

"Bye!" Tsuki yelled waving like crazy.

Neji and Sasuke just gave a nod as Neji turned to follow Tenten.

"Are you Hungry?" Sakura asked as she set Tsuki down on the ground.

"Yeah" She said rubbing her belly and faking a sad face.

"Come on." She said with a giggle, grabbing the girls hand and the rest of the Funnel Cake, she looked over to Sasuke. He grabbed the basket and they all headed over to the big tree.

Sasuke sat the basket down and got the blanket out, unfolding it. Sakura came over and grabbed the opposite end of the blanket and they both stretched it out laying it on the ground perfectly in front of the tree. Sakura grabbed the basket and sat down on the ground as Tsuki and Sasuke followed. Sitting in a triangle Sakura brought out the contents of the basket.

"Yay Ramen!" the little girl shouted as she saw the plastic bowls Sakura got out.

During the meal Tsuki told her guardians about the fun she had with Neji and Tenten. It didn't take too much longer before it got completely dark.

"Ok let's get ready to watch the fireworks." Sakura said getting up and walking over to the tree. Sasuke and Tsuki followed as she sat down and leaned against the large trunk of the tree. Sasuke sat beside her but left a gap in between the two for Tsuki to sit down.

The girl just stood in front of them for a few seconds before shaking her head.

"Scoot closer together." she stated looking at the two.

They gave each other a confused glance.

"Why?" Sakura asked averting her attention to the girl again.

"Pleeease." the child put her hands together and pleaded instead of answering the question.

"Ok" she replied skeptically before her and Sasuke scooted closer together. They still left a few inches between each other which made Tsuki frown.

"Closer." she said waving her hand motioning for Sakura to scoot over more.

Sakura sighed but complied, blushing slightly as her thigh, arm, and shoulder pressed against Sasuke's. Sasuke on the other hand smirk down at the flustered girl beside him until Tsuki walk over and grabbed his hand, making him drape his arm over Sakura's Shoulders, which made them both blush. Tsuki just giggled as she took her seat in Sakura's lap and leaned back to view the fireworks with a satisfied smile.

Sakura laughed, wrapping her arms around the girl, and looked up at Sasuke who was already looking down at her. The first set of fireworks started to go off as they stared deeply into the eyes of one another both smiling as they watch the shimmers of color dance in their eyes.

"Wow, that's so pretty!" Tsuki said in amazement, braking them out of their trance.

"Yeah." Sakura said as her and Sasuke looked up to the glittering bursts of purples, blues, and pinks.

Sakura sighed contently and leaned back into Sasuke's embrace as they silently watched the rest of the show in peace.

* * *

><p>"Man, I'm exhausted." Sakura sighed, walking beside Sasuke who was dragging the grill alongside him.<p>

"So was she." He said pointing to the sleeping girl in Sakura's arms.

"Yeah, she barely made it past the finally." She said with a giggle looking down at the girl clutching her stuffed cat.

When they finally made it home, Sakura took Tsuki to her room and put her to bed while Sasuke put the grill in the basement. Once they were finished they both plopped down on the couch next to each other, surprisingly close but both were too tired to care.

They both sighed and closed their eyes as they leaned back into the soft cushions.

"So, do you want to start with the pond? We can check it out in the morning to see what we're gonna need to fix it up." Sakura said opening her eyes to look up to the man sitting next to her.

"Sure." He replied, glancing down at her.

Ryu took that moment to jump on the couch and crawl onto Sakura's lap. He softly nudged her hand as she started petting him. The cat immediately began to purr loudly.

"He missed us." Sakura said with a giggle.

Sasuke chuckled and looked down at the fur ball.

Sakura sighed, closed her eyes, and absentmindedly laid her head on Sasuke's shoulder. She smiled as she gently scratched behind Ryu's ear.

"Ugh, when I close my eyes I can still fill the rush of those rides."

Sasuke chuckled softly as she grimaced.

"Then don't close your eyes." He said looking down at her.

"I can't help it. I'm so tired I can't keep them open." She replied sighing once more.

Sasuke, who was still looking down at her, smiled.

"Well then, let's go to bed." He said picking up the cat and placing him on the arm of the chair beside him, carefully so he didn't disturb Sakura's head that was still on his shoulder.

"I don't think I can move." She mumbled with a groan.

Sasuke smirked and in one quick movement scooped her up bridle style. Sakura let out a surprised gasp as her eyes widened and she griped his shoulders with her hands.

"What are doing?" she asked, her heart rate speeding.

"You said you were exhausted, so I'm carrying you to bed." He said with a stock voice as he slowly made his way to the stairs.

Sakura's heart beat was finally returning to normal as she started to relax in his arms, her grip on his shoulders loosening.

"Sasuke, I was exaggerating. I'm not really that tired." She said giving him an awkward smile.

"Hn" was his reply as he continued to climb the stairs.

Sakura chuckled and rolled her eyes playfully.

Once they got to the door she stopped him by patting his shoulder.

"Ok I think I can handle the rest of the way." She said giggling.

Sasuke smirk but gently let her down, keeping his hands around her waist as hers still rested on his shoulders.

"Thank you." Sakura said looking up at him with a small smile.

"For carrying you up the stairs?" He asked with a slight chuckle.

"Well yeah, and for going to the carnival today." She said still looking up at him.

"Hn, don't mention it." He replied giving her a smirk.

She smiled back at him as she stood on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Goodnight Sasuke." She said, embracing him into a hug.

"Goodnight Sakura." He replied, wrapping his arms tighter around her waist.

They stayed like that for a few seconds before Sakura broke the hug.

"I'll see you in the morning." She said as Sasuke reluctantly let go of her and she opened the door to her bedroom. She turned and smiled at him before gently shutting the door behind her.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey, sorry once again for the late update. I know it's not verry long, hopfully the next chapter will be longer. Oh and I have no clue if the Uchia compound actually has any of that stuff I just made it up on the spot and decided to go with it lol ^^; <strong>

_**SPOILER: **_**The next chapter will have an apperiance of one or maby even both of the wolves:) I haven't really decided yet but something big's ganna happen. ;) **

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	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters associated with it. I own Tsuki, Kage, and Kurochi. This goes for all future and past chapters that I will and have forgotten to put a disclaimer in. lol**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 12<strong>_

The next morning came a little to quickly for Sakura's liking. She groggily made her way down stairs where a pair of onyx eyes meet her at the doorway. The owner of the eyes smirked at the girl still in her PJ's.

"Good morning sunshine." He teased, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame.

Sakura just glared at him for a moment before walking over to refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of water. Sasuke's eyes followed her as his smirk turned to a smile.

"Good morning, I'm gonna go take a nice long shower before we get started." She said walking back over to Sasuke, uncapping the water bottle and taking a drink.

"Do you want to eat breakfast before we go?" He asked still smiling at her appearance.

She looked down in thought for a moment before responding.

"No, we'll cook when we get back so it'll still be warm when Tsuki wakes up."

Sasuke nodded in agreement then watched her climb up the stairs.

Roughly thirty minutes later, they found themselves in the training area. They decided to start with it instead of the pond since Tsuki had to return to school tomorrow. Sakura looked around at the vines and weeds growing around and sighed. She was mentally readying herself to make a list of supply's they would need to fix this area up.

"Well we'll defiantly need to replace the training dummies." She stated walking over to the closest one. There were several spread throughout the place and they all looked weather worn. She gave it a tap and sweat dropped as the wood practically turned to dust under her touch.

"The weapons shed might need rebuilt also. " He added walking past her to the small building at the end of field.

She walked up behind him and looked it over. Sturdy is not a word she would use to describe this shed. It looked like the wind would knock it over at any minute.

She walked over to gently push the door open and jumped back in surprise as it completely fell off the hinges.

"Be carful." Sasuke smirked and stepped up behind her.

She glared at him before slowly stepping into it. He made sure to stay close to her just incase it were to collapse in on them. He might shave said it teasingly but he did mean it.

There were different tools littered everywhere. Swords were hanging on the walls, kunia and shuriken were lined up on shelves, along with an assortment of staffs on racks.

"We can probably take these and get them fixed up. They don't look to bad, a little rusty and worn, but that's it." She said examining the weapons more closely.

"Hn" was his reply as he took a sword off the wall and looked it over.

"So. . . Did you train here a lot when you were younger?" She asked unsure of what his reaction would be with her bringing up his past.

He look up from the sword and shook his head.

"No. Itachi and I had an area in the woods that we liked to use." He said and she stared at him, a little bewildered.

"What?" He asked growing uncomfortable under her stare.

At his question she seemed to snap out of the trance she was in as she blinked several times.

"Oh. . . Nothing. . . It's just. . . I didn't expect you to answer. I mean you've never told me anything about your past before. . . Well other than the revenge thing of course. " She said, still unsure of how this conversation is going to turn out and worried that she was going to drive him away with her bringing up old memories.

"You're the first person I've ever spoken to about it." He shrugged and she gave him a warm smile.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" She asked and he returned the smile.

"Yeah, I know. . . and one day I might tell you everything." He said softly.

"I'd like that." She replied , her smile growing.

Their smiles soon dropped though, when they felt a surge of chakra near by. They shared a glance and were gone in a flash. They both arrived at the house in less than 10 seconds and could tell that Tsuki was no longer there. Sasuke activated his sharingan and they both disappeared into the woods.

Less than a minute later they caught up with the source of their panic. Two black wolves were growling at two men, one of which was holding a crying Tsuki.

"Get out of here you stupid mutts! I don't know where the hell you came from but I'll kill the girl if you come any closer!" The smaller of the two yelled holding a kunia to Tsuki's neck.

The bigger one started throwing shuriken at the beasts, who were dodging them easily.

"Um, Kio. I think we have more visitors." Toki said pointing to Sakura and Sasuke.

"Damn, this is gonna be harder than I thought." Kio mumbled as he took the kunia he was pressing against Tsuki's neck and threw it at Sakura, who caught it with a murderous glint in her eyes.

Kage took the opportunity to lunge at Toki's jugular while he was destructed by Kio. The guy might have been hefty and strong, but he was no match for a blood thirsty wolf.

"Damn it Toki!" His partner cried. Looking around he began to panic. It was four on one now and he did _not_ like those odds.

"Here take her! I'm out of here!" He yelled, throwing the girl to the ground, he then took off deeper into the woods.

Sakura and Sasuke ran over to her immediately. Sakura bent down to pick her up.

"Tsuki are you ok?" She asked hugging the girl for dare life.

Tsuki mumbled a 'yes' through sobbs.

She then glanced at Sasuke, who nodded and took off after the remaining kidnapper. Sakura looked over at the two wolves. Kurochi was next to her eyeing the girl with worry and Kage was standing over the dead body with blood dripping off his muzzle.

"Sasuke went after the other guy. I'm going to take Tsuki back to the house." Sakura explained.

Kurochi looked over at Kage. He let out a deep rumble and took off in the same direction that Sasuke had went earlier. Sakura nodded in understanding and ran in the direction of the compound, Kurochi running along side her.

Once they arrived in the living room, Sakura sat Tsuki down and glanced her over for any injuries. After deeming her uninjured, she summoned a scroll and messenger bird to send to Tsunade. After she was finished she looked back over at the girl, who was now latched onto the wolf.

"I'm going to check on Sasuke and Kage. Can you stay with Tsuki?" She asked, already knowing the answer. After a nod from the wolf she took off at high speed only to slow down once she could hear the sounds of battle. She creeped up and hid in the shadows to assess the situation.

Sasuke had his blade drawn standing a good twenty feet away from the kidnapper. She could see and hear the blue electricity sparking off his sword. Kage was beside him growling fiercely at their opponent. Sasuke didn't seem to have a scratch on him, Kage on the other hand, looked like he had been stuck with a kunia several times. Most likely because in order to sink his teeth into him, he would have to get in stabbing range.

The attacker's left arm was mingled, he had several shuriken protruding out of his body, and he was using his good arm to throw weapons at the dodging duo. Sasuke, sensing Sakuras presence, started to pick up speed and charged full on at his opponent. Sakura took the hint and done a few fast hand signs.

Kio saw Sasuke coming at him and knowing that he'd never be able to stop the blow with his arm, he went to spring out of the way, only to realize, to late, that he was being held in place by roots wrapping around his legs. Panicking, he took the knife in his hand he went to throw it at him but his arm was caught by one of the roots and held him wide open. Sasuke closed in and stuck the sword right threw his abdomen. Pulling it out, he kicked the unconscious body to the ground.

He looked over as Sakura came out of the shadows.

"Thanks." He smirked at her.

"Well I was hoping you knew I was there and not stupidly running towards an armed enemy." She smirked back teasingly.

"Hn." He folded his arms and half heartedly glared at her.

"I didn't hit any vital organs. You might want to make sure he doesn't bleed to death so he can be interrogated." He said fully glaring at the unconscious body on the ground.

"Right." She replied and went over to the fallen enemy.

"What the hell happened!?" Shouted a loud blonde, emerging from the trees behind them.

Two more figures stepped out beside him. "That guy back there looked like he was mulled by a tiger!" He yelled pointing in the direction of the other body.

"Wolf, actually." Sasuke said pointing to Kage, who was sitting on the sidelines. He looked menacing as he licked his blood soaked muzzle. Naruto shrank back a little in fear.

"Neji, Naruto, come help me with this guy. Shikamaru, did Ino come with you?" Sakura stud up and circled the body.

"Yeah, her an Tenten went to the house to check on … well we thought, you and Tsuki. We were coming to help Sasuke. I'm assuming the other one is with her." He reported and Sakura gave him a nod.

"I need you to get her and go tell Inoichi to expect company." She ordered.

"Hai" he replied before disappearing.

* * *

><p>"Kurochi, is Sakura and Sasuke going to be alright?" Tsuki asked as she sat on the couch.<p>

"Sweetheart, they're going to be just fine. Kage wont let anything happen to them." She replied setting down in front of the girl. Tsuki looked down at her lap and sniffed.

"I hope so." She gave the girl a sad look before sensing two people heading for the house.

She stood and faced the door, hackles raised and teeth beard.

"Kurochi?" Tsuki asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

"Sakura!" Two girls yell bursting through the door only to stop in their tracks to see a wolf growling at them.

"Tenten! Ino!" Tsuki grinned and ran to the girls.

Tenten was the first to brake out of the trance and bent down to hug the girl.

"Tsuki, thank heavens your alright." She said squeezing tighter.

Once realization dawned on the wolf as to who the intruders were, she sat back down in front of the couch calmly.

Ino shot the wolf a weary glance before bending down beside Tenten. Tsuki let her go and latched on to Ino.

"Where's Sakura, sweetie?" She asked hugging the girl back.

"She went to help Sasuke and Kage." She replied letting go. Ino and Tenten stood up.

"Kage? Who's Kag-ow!" Tenten interrupted her question with an elbow to the gut.

They glared at each other as Tenten motioned to the wolf then to Tsuki. The glare slipped of her face once she remembered the story Sakura had told her. "ohh"

"Ino?" Shikamaru called as he interred the house.

"Yeah." She called looking over at him.

"Did you find them?" She asked and he nodded as he observed everyone in the room.

"One enemy dead the other unconscious. Neji and Naruto are helping with the bodies. Sakura wants us to get your father ready for an interrogation." He reported and she gave a nod before leaving with him.

* * *

><p>A few hours later and everyone was now gathered in Tsunades office. They had all just reported everything that happened. Even Kage and Kurochi gave their side of the story. They had just finished the report when there was a nock at the door. Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temple before ordering them in.<p>

Inoichi walked in and placed a file on her desk. She picked it up and thumbed through it while he spoke. "The intruders were rouge ninja from the west, they were working in the carnival and recognized the girl from a mission they had picked up earlier. An unknown man ordered them to find the girl. When they arrived at the village it had already been destroyed. They reported that she was assumed dead. When they discovered the girl yesterday they planed to kidnap her and take her to him. Hoping they would still get payed." He reported.

Tsunade itertwined her fingers and hummed in thought.

"Did they tell anyone she was here?" She asked.

"No." He replied.

"Good, charge him with terrorism and kidnapping, make sure the inside of a cell is the only thing he sees until he dies. Shikamaru. I'm sending your team to investigate the location of the man who hired him. Sakura I need to speak with you for a moment, the rest of you are dismissed." She ordered and the rest of the group left without a word.

Sakura watched them leave before sighing and looking over at her former mentor.

"You look like worried mother." Tsunade commented with a smile.

"I feel like a worried mother." She replied with another sigh.

Sensing that this was going to be a personal talk and not business, she tiredly walked over and sat on he corner of her desk like she use to when she was younger.

"I've never been more afraid in my life, then when I seen that bastard holding Tsuki." She added running her fingers through he hair tiredly.

"I know how you feel. I might not have kids of my own but I get that same fear when something happens to you or Shizune." She said smiling softly at the girl beside her, who smiled knowingly back.

"So,how is the girl?" Tsunade asked, genuinely curious.

"Great. She's a wonderful kid. She's doing really well in school and she's no trouble at all." She beamed and Tsunade had to chuckle.

"Now you sound like a proud parent." She commented and Sakura grinned sheepishly.

"I can't help it. I've grown really attached to the girl." She replied with a laugh of her own.

Once the laughter died Sakura gave her mother figure a nervous glance.

"So um… we only have three weeks left… have you thought about your decision yet?" She asked with a hint of hope.

Tsunade gave her small smile.

"Yes I have…a lot…but after what happened today it's going to be that much harder to convince the Elders I'm making the right decision." She smiled apologetically to her former student, who let out a groaned.

"Have you and Sasuke decided what your going to do after this is all over?" She asked and Sakura thought for a minute befor answering.

"Well if the verdict is no, then were going to kidnap her and run away to live somewhere far away from the village." She said with a teasing smile.

Tsunade raised a brow at her, inwardly debating if she was joking or not. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that and hope your were kidding."

Sakura laughed at her attempt at a joke.

"Well, we've already decided to permanently move into the compound." Sakura offered after a moment of silence.

Tsunade raised a brow again so she continued.

"I was also planing to take my old position at the hospital, but I haven't told Sasuke that yet." She added and the blonde nodded in agreement.

"What about you and Sasuke? Sleeping in the same bed yet?" She teased and Sakura blushed.

"Really!?" She exclaimed incredulously and Tsunade laughed.

"You didn't answer the question." She countered and Sakura growled in frustration.

"No! We are not sleeping together!" She hissed making Tsunade laugh harder.

"Relax. I'm joking." She said regaining her composure.

Sakura sighed, her color turning back, then chuckled.

"Sorry, it's just that Ino's been bugging me about it lately." Tsunade smiled at the pinkette.

"It's alright. Now ge out of here, go home, rest, and make sure the girls not traumatized." She said and they both share a smile before Sakura took her exit.

After the conversation with Tsunade, Sakura meet up with Sasuke, Tsuki, and the two wolves outside.

"Alright guys lets go home. I just realize we haven't had breakfast and I'm starving." She said and the others nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p><strong>I know it's short and I apologize for the extremely late update. Life got in the way -_- I also want to say that I'm using my phone to write this so there's probably a whole lot more mess ups. After I'm finished with the story I'll probably go back and touch up all the chapters… if I have time ^_^;<strong>

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	13. Chapter 13

Yay lucky number 13 ^_^

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters associated with it. I own Tsuki, Kage, and Kurochi. This goes for all future and past chapters that I will and have forgotten to put a disclaimer in. lol**

**Oh and I forgot to mention in the last chapter that I also own Toki and Kio. **

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 13<strong>_

"Do you have to go?" Tsuki asked, looking sadly at the two fading wolves. After they all got home the two informed them that they were granted stay until the sun went down. Kage's wounds healed remarkably quick, and the three humans ate breakfast while the two cleaned themselves up.

They went to a deserted park and let Tsuki play with her two spiritual friends before they had to depart. Now the sun was slowly sinking over the horizon, taking the wolves with it.

"Yes we have to go, but I promise we'll be back someday." Kurochi said to the now crying girl. Tsuki wrapped her arms around the two and sniffled.

"I'm going to miss you." She whispered into their fur before letting go.

"We're going to miss you too." The female wolf replied and the two licked the girls pposite cheek at the same time. Sakura and Sasuke meany noted that at least she didn't lie about that.

The girl giggled and stood up. She walked over an stepped in between the two ninja and turned to face the wolves, who now looked like ghosts. The three waved as their image quickly faded.

* * *

><p>"I'm thinking about taking my old job at the hospital after this is all over." Sakura stated as she poured water into their cups. They had sent Tsuki to bed and were now sitting down for their routine nightly tea.<p>

She put the pot back on the stove and took a seat beside her companion. Sasuke swirled his cup around in thought before lookin over at her.

"Thats a good idea, as long as you don't work the crazy hours you used to." He smirked and she gave him a scandalized expression.

"I did not work crazy hours." She stated and he almost laughed.

"You worked from six in the morning til twelve at night. I had to drag you to lunch just so you'd eat something." He pointed out then took a drink from his cup.

She opened her mouth to retort then shut it once she realized that he was right. "Ok maybe I worked a little to much." She gave in and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"A little?" He asked rhetorically.

"Ok a lot, but I won't go over board this time. The reason I'm taking it anyway is to spend more time with Tsuki. I can't do that if I work all the time." She resoned.

He smirked at her then took another drink of his cooling tea.

"So what are you going to do?" She asked taking a drink from hers as well.

"I'm thinking about pulling a Kakashi." He stated and it was her turn to laugh.

"I can't see you teaching Gennin. Those poor kids are going to be traumatized." She said bursting into another fit of laughter.

He rolled his eyes at her and continued to drink his tea. After she calmed down and caught her breath she turned to him with a questioning gaze. He glared at her from over his cup.

"Yes. I was being serious." He stated sitting it down and crossing his arms."I don't think it will be that hard." He added and she shot him a smile.

"Well if your serious. I'll be rooting for you. I mean, you _are_ an Uchiha. They can do anything they set their minds to, right?" She teased and he smirked.

"Thank you, that's all I wanted was your support." He teased back and she smacked him playfully on the shoulder.

"You'll always have my support." She said with a slightly more serious tone and smiled over at him.

"I know." He said as he smiled back.

* * *

><p>"Be good and have fun!" Sakura called out to the girl as she watched her enter the school.<p>

"Ok I will." She called back with a wave.

Sakura then turned abruptly to Sasuke. "Ok first we need to gather up all the weapons and take them to the shop. Then we can order new practice dummies and material to rebuild the shed." She stated and he gave a nod.

"Are you sure the Uchiha funds have enough to afford this?" She asked as they started walking back toward the compound.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. "Of Course. I still have plenty left, even after the renavations."

The rest of the trip was spent in comfortable silence. Once they got home Sasuke went to fetch two duffle bags while Sakura went to gather the weapons.

She slowly stepped into the unstable shed and began taking the tools out and putting them into two separate piles. A few minutes later Sasuke had arrived to help her out.

Sakura zipped up her stuffed duffle bag and stood up to brush the rust off of her hands. "We'll I think that's the last-" She was cut off by a loud crash. Her and Sasuke both jumped and turned around to see the building had collapsed.

"Huh, I'm glad we weren't in there. It looks like it would have been painful." She said examining the rubble with Sasuke nodding in agreement.

She walked over and moved a piece of wood with her foot.

"So, what do we do with all of this?" She asked turning to the Uchiha. He shrugged and picked up a piece of stray wood.

"I guess we burn it." He said tossing it onto the pile.

Just then Sakura's eyes light up and a smile played across her lips. "You just gave me a great idea." She stated prancing over to Sasuke, who shot her and amused but questioning glance.

"Lets have a camp out this weekend. We can make hotdogs, roast marshmallows, oh and we can teach Tsuki how to make s'mores." She suggested, bubbling with excitement.

Sasuke chuckled and crossed his arms. "Alright, we can use _our_ training field since it's an open area." He suggested, refering to the area they found out in the forest to train. She agreed as she bent over to pick up a bag.

"Great, I can't wait." She said and made her way off the field.

Sasuke shook his head in amusement before picking up the other bag and following after her.

"Lets go check out the pond next. That way, we can order everything we'll need at one time." She suggested once he caugh up to her.

Giving her nod, he lead her through a series of halls before coming to stop in an open hallway that stretched clear across the front of the pond area. Setting their bags down, they both stepped to the edge of the hall and looked out at scene.

The pond itself was moderately sized. It wasn't huge but it wasn't tiny either. Small trees and bushes grew around the walls on the back and sides of the enclosure. there was a stone path that lead from the entrance hall, all the way around the pond, and a wooden bridge near the back, arched delicately over the body of water.

Walking up to to edge of the water they examined the pond more closely. The water was still and murky, and the plants inside almost completely covered the entire surface.

Sakura shot Sasuke a questioning look and he shrugged before answering her unspoken question. "The water comes from an underground spring. It flows up from the center. There's a pail of rocks surrounding the opening. My guess is that it caved in."

She gave a nod in understanding and walked the path to the bridge.

"That would make sense. Fish can't live in still water, so I guess they died a long time ago." she added as she stepped up to look at the arch bridge. It was a dull red and the paint looked to be chipping in some areas but over all it looked sturdy.

Taking weary steps and holding onto the railing, she slowly made her way to the middle.

"At least the bridge is in a lot better condition then that shed." She joked and smiled over at Sauke, who smirked back but still watched her carefully.

"It just needs repainted." She add taking more confident strides off the bridge and walking back over to stand by Sasuke.

"Do you know how deep in is?" She asked bending down to move a few plants in the water with her hand.

"It's about three and a half feet." He answered as she stood up to face him.

"That good. So it looks like the only thing we really need to do is clean the pond, pull the weeds, and unblock the water flow." She said as she walked back over to the hall.

He gave her another nod before walking over to pick up his bag. She picked up hers aswell and followed him back through the maze of halls.

He brought her to th garden next, which was just behind the main house. It looked like a little piece of land cut right out of the forest surrounded by a wooded fence.

There was thick bamboo lining the sides of the fence and the back wall was completely covered in red roses. Most of the flower beds were grown over but what caught Sasuke's attention, was the single cherry blossom tree in center with a lone bench behind it that faced the rose bushes.

He remembered coming her with his mother and sitting on that bench with her countless times, but there was never a tree behind it. After a minute of though the memory hit him like a lightning bolt.

_He had just finished training with Itachi. Since his brother was always busy it was rare he actually got a chance to and now he was going to go tell his mom all about it. She wasn't in the house so he knew she had to be out in the garden. _

_When he came in she was on her knees digging a hole behind the bench instead of sitting in it like he was expecting. Forgetting all about Itachi and wondering what she was doing, he went over and got on his knees beside of her. _

_She stopped what she was doing and looked over at him with a motherly smile. "Hello Sasuke." She said as he looked back at her._

_"Hi, what are doing?" He asked as he inspected the hole and weird looking plant beside of her._

_She laughed at how easily her son could be distracted. She knew he came in here to tell her about his day with Itachi. She didn't expect him to be interested in what she was doing at all. _

_"I'm planting a tree. Do you want to help?" She asked and watched his face light up. _

_"Yeah!" He practically shouted in joy. He liked helping his mom in the garden almost as much as spending time with his brother. Getting to do both in one day was awesome. _

_"Ok, I'm already done digging the hole so the only thing left is to plant and water it." She said as she reached over and pick the sapling up. _

_She handed it to him and he gave it weird look. "So what kind of tree is it?" He asked, sitting in down in the hole. _

_She looked the tree over, making sure it was centered before answering. "It's a Sakura Tree." _

_She smiled at the curious expression on his face. "I ran into a little girl your age at the flower shop. I've seen her in there before because she's friends with the owners daughter, but today she helped me carry in some of my roses." She explained as she pushed some dirt in th hole around the little tree._

_"She had the most unique hair color. It reminded me of Sakura blossoms. I didn't catch her name but I thought the tree would look good in the garden so I picked one up on my way home…Maybe you'll meet her some day." She finished and flashed him a smile, just as they were packing in the dirt around the tree._

_Sasuke hummed in thought, trying to imagine a girl with pink hair. His mother snapped him out of his thoughts as she stood up and dusted off her knees. He got up and done the same._

_"Why don't you go get a bucket of water and you can tell me all about your day with Itachi as we water the flowers." She said and he was once again destructed by the change in conversation. _

_So he went and got the water, forgetting all about the tree as he retold his training session with his brother. _

The massacre happened right after that so the memory was long forgoten, but the revilation hit Sasuke like a ton of bricks. It was Sakura, his mother had seen at the flower shop that day.

Shock was writen all over his face and Sakura could see it. She was starting to get a little worried. She didn't want to inturupt his chain of though so she watched him patiently until he turned to look at her.

"My mother saw you at the Yamanaka flower shop." Was the only thing he said.

At first she was confused but then it was her turn to look shocked as she whiped her head around to stare at the roses, still blooming proudly.

"I remember…" She said after a moment of silence.

"I went to go see Ino but she was sick that day… on my way out Mrs. Yamanaka asked me to help a lady carry in some roses. She didn't tell me her name but we talked for a little while." She said as she smiled at the memory.

She walked over to the bush and lightly fingered the petals of one of the roses. "She said she had a son at home who loved to help her with the flowers…" She then turned and gave Sasuke a sad smile.

"I told her that I'd love to meet him some day." She said, averting her gaze to the ground. It was weird how fate played out. She ended up falling in love with the woman's son without even knowing it.

"I had no idea that she was your mother… but now that I think about it… you look a lot like her." She added as she looked up to meet his eyes.

He smiled at her, to let her know it was ok, and that it was taken as a complement. She smiled back and walked over to stand beside him.

"She didn't know your name either… but she told me that your unique hair color reminded her of Sakura blossoms... thats why she planted this tree." He informed her as he motion to the cherry blossom tree.

She smiled and almost laughed at the irony. "Well I think she'd be happy to know that my name actually was Sakura."

"I think she'd also be happy that we finally met and that your the one taking care of her garden now." He added as he smiled at her.

"I hope so." She whispered to herself as she wrapped her arms around his neck for a hug.

He responded by wrapping his arms around her waist. She went to pull away but was surprised when Sasuke tightened his hold. She felt the warmth of his embrace as they stayed like that a little longer then necessary.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day they spent getting the things they needed to fix the areas up. They dropped the weapons of at the weapons smith, the old man said to give him about two weeks and the shop owner at the place they ordered the supplied to make the shed said that he could have the stuff delivered tomorrow. They figured they would have the shed done before it was time to pick up the weapons.<p>

So, after a '_conversation'_ with the delivery guy about having the stuff delivered _before_ school let out, they went to a home and garden shop where they got the supplies they would need to fix up the pond and the garden.

Sakura decide that she'd worry about planting more flowers after they got the other areas done. Right now she was just concentrating on getting ride of the over growth.

They had decided to show Tsuki the pond after school and let her know that they would be working on fixing it up together. But at the moment they were plaining to surprise her with it.

"What is it?" She asked once they go to their destination.

"It's a pond." Sakura informed her with a wide smile.

"It looks gross." She said wrinkling her nose.

"I know. We're going to fix it up and put Kio fish in it." Saskura said as she sweat dropped anime style.

"Oh, can I help?!" the girl immediately brighted as she asked jumping up and down in excitement.

Sakura laughed at the change in attitude. "Of course. It'll be a kind of after school project and we can start now if you want." She said looking down at the girl that was beaming up at her nodding very enthusiastically.

Sasuke smirked and shook his head at the two.

The first thing they done was clean out the pond. Tsuki worked on pulling the weeds from the rim of the pond while Sasuke and Sakura worked on the deeper ends.

"This is gross, are you sure we can't just drain the water out?" Sakura asked, mirroring Tsuki's disgust from earlier. She was waist deep in murky nasty water and she could have sworn that she just felt something touch her leg.

Sasuke smirked and shook his head at her sudden squeamishness. "No, there's nowhere to drain it to and besides, once it's clear and the water way is unblocked it'll practically clean itself." He answered as he pulled more plants up and tossed them to dry land.

Sakura groaned and continued to work on her area of weeds beside him. A sudden scream from Tsuki had them both on guard and ready to leap out of the water, but the scream turned into giggles and they both shared a confused glance.

"It's… a… frog!" She called out in between giggles as the amphibian jumped into her lap.

Sasuke and Sakura chuckled, watching her play with the frog and pull weeds at the same time.

_**(A.N. I don't know why but the gaurden scene just poped into my head, it dosn't really fit with Naruto time line but I just couldn't resist. It's called fanfiction for a reason heehee. If anyone has a problem with it though, let me know and I'll do something with it.)**_

_**Anyway, I'm sorry (once again) for a late update. I know where I want to go with this story it's just getting there is the problem *sigh* but hopefully Sakura and Sasuke should be getting together sometime in the next few chapters. **_

_**I was going to make this one longer but I figured I made you guys wait long enough so I stopped it here. **_

_**As usual thanks to all my reviewers! (I know I don't answer all of them but I read every single one of them, sometimes more then once. Lol)**_

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	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters associated with it. I own Tsuki, Kage, Kurochi, Hikaru and Asani Hiroshi. This goes for all future and past chapters that I will and have forgotten to put a disclaimer in. lol**

~**Recap**~

_"This is gross, are you sure we can't just drain the water out?" Sakura asked, mirroring Tsuki's disgust from earlier. She was waist deep in murky nasty water and she could have sworn that she just felt something touch her leg._

_Sasuke smirked and shook his head at her sudden squeamishness. "No, there's nowhere to drain it to and besides, once it's clear and the water way is unblocked it'll practically clean itself." He answered as he pulled more plants up and tossed them to dry land._

_Sakura groaned and continued to work on her area of weeds beside him. A sudden scream from Tsuki had them both on guard and ready to leap out of the water, but the scream turned into giggles and they both shared a confused glance._

_"It's… a… frog!" She called out in between giggles as the amphibian jumped into her lap._

_Sasuke and Sakura chuckled, watching her play with the frog and pull weeds at the same time._

* * *

><p>Once they were finished Sasuke unblocked the water flow and They painted the bridge a bright red. They had used paint left over from the constuction crew that paint the Uchiha symboles.<p>

When they returned the next morning the water look clean and clear and the paint on the bridge was dry. The frog was gone though. He wasn't to happy with the new renovations to his home so he moved out.

The delivery man dropped off their order as planed and they hauled it over to the training field while Tsuki was at school. They cleared away the area, putting the rusty nails and scrap medal in a bucket, and taking the old wood over to their training area to burn that weekend. By the time they had to pick Tsuki up from school, they had already gotten most of the frame work up for the new tool shed.

* * *

><p>For Tsuki, time felt like it was literally dragging by. Sakura and Sasuke had told her the previous night that they would pick out the fish from the pet store on their way home from school and she couldn't wait.<p>

Hikaru Hiroshi, her best friend of two weeks had noticed her change in behavior. His bright silver eyes sent her a questioning glance. She leaned over and whispered, 'I'll tell you later'. He nodded, his short choppy black hair shaking in the effort.

Once they were let out for recess she explained that her pseudo-parents were going to let her pick out the Koi Fish for their pond and asked if he wanted to join them. He, of course, said yes. So, with a plan to ask their respective guardians, they went to play with their other friends and finish the long hours left of the school day.

* * *

><p>Sakura and Sasuke were at their normal spot when Tsuki came running up to them, dragging a boy by the hand. He looked like he was struggling to keep up and hold on at the same time.<p>

"This is my friend Hikaru, can he come with us to pick out the fish, please. His mom said it was ok." Tsuki shot off in one excited, pleading, breathe.

"Um…" Sakura stammered and looked over to Sasuke. She had to hold back a laugh because _the_ Sasuke Uchiha wasn't looking at her. . . no, he was giving their interlocked hands a death glare. Both kids completely oblivious.

"Sure." She said pleasently, causing a series of reactions. Tsuki grinned, Hikaru sighed in relief, and Sasuke turned his glare onto her.

The two kids smiled at each other before taking off ahead, giggling all the way. Sakura could still feel Sasuke's glare as they started slowly after them.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"They're holding hands." He stated, his glare intensifying.

"So?" She raised a brow.

"So? He's a boy… he's holding Tsuki's hand… and you just invited him to spend the day with her." He accused angrily.

Sakura couldn't help it, she smiled and let out a chuckle.

He shot her an incredulous look. "What are laughing at?"

She looked at him and laughed harder. "Oh, Sasuke. Protective father is a really cute look on you." She said wiping a tear from her eyes. He blushed and looked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"They're just kids. This is innocent friendship." she gestured to the two laughing kids a few feet ahead of them. "You don't have to start worrying about boys until she's a little older."

"Yeah, I guess your right." He stated, looking a lot calmer, and glancing at the two children with a different perspective.

"Good. Now be nice, that could be our future son-in-law up there." She teased with a smirk.

Instead of reacting angerly like she had though, he turned to her with a raised brow. "Are you saying that Tsuki's our future daughter?" He asked with a smirk of his own.

She thought for a moment then looked into his eyes with a smile. "She kind of already is."

The familiar bell of the pet shop's door snapped them from their conversation. They looked forward to see Tsuki and Hikaru holding the door open for them. They smiled at each other one last time before following them in.

Picking out fish was, surprisingly, hard for Tsuki. She wanted them all and couldn't decide which ones she wanted the most. So, after almost an hour of staring into the aquarium and saying 'How bout this one?', they were finally on their way back home.

The Koi were individually bagged. Tsuki and Hikaru had a fish in each hand, Sakura had two fish in each hand, and Sasuke had two fish in one hand and a bag of fish food, that the owner was generous enough to threw in for free, in the other. All together they had ten Koi Fish. Ryu was going to be a happy cat tonight… just kidding.

"So Hikaru, tell us a little about yourself." Sakura said to the boy as they walked down the street.

Tsuki and Hikaru were walking side by side in front of Sakura and Sasuke, so he turned around and started walking backwards to talk to her.

"My name is Hikaru Hiroshi. I'm six and a half years old. Um…" he trailed off, looking a little uncomfortable. "What else do you want to know?" He asked.

"Oh, you know, likes, dislikes, favorite color, what do you want to do when you grow up. Things like that." She said with a shrug.

"Um… I like school, I hate broccoli, I like dogs, even though I'm not allowed to have one, my favorite color is blue, and I'm gonna be the best ninja in the world when I grow up." He finished, looking satisfied with his answer.

"Second best." Tsuki said with a smirk.

"We'll see about that." He smiled back, then almost tripped because he forgot he was still walking backwards. The girls laughed and Sasuke shook his head with a smile as the boy laughed sheepishly.

Releasing the fish was a lot eazier then picking them out. _That_, was for sure. After a minute of watching them swim freely the kids fed them and started playing along the side of the bank, laughing when one of the fish nibbled at their fingers.

Sakura and Sasuke sat on the edge of the bridge and watched them play peacefully. It was an odd, but good, felling they both got while watching Tsuki interact with a kid her age. Sometimes it was hard to tell if the girl was six or sixteen. She acted so mature for her age.

"What do you say we invite Hikaru to the the camp out?" Sakura asked as she looked to Sasuke for an answer.

"Sure, but I though it was going to be a surprise?" He raised a questioning brow.

"It still can be. I'll take him home tonight and talk to his parents while I'm there. We can pick him up Saturday morning and surprise them both." She said smiling satisfactory at her plan.

"Ok, but they're not sharing a sleeping bag." He said and Sakura laughed as they both went back to watching the two play.

After the kids got bored with the fish, they all headed inside where Hikaru was introduced to Ryu. They played with the energetic little kitten for a while as Sakura prepared dinner.

* * *

><p>"Mom! I'm home!" Hikaru yelled as they walked up to the door. It opened before Sakua even had time to knock. A woman in her late twenties with long, curly, black hair and bright blue eyes greeted them in the door way.<p>

"Hey sweetie." She said, bending down to give her son a hug.

"This is Sakura, Tsuki's mom, she walked me home." He said as he ended the hug and introduced the girl standing behind him.

"It'snice to meet you Mrs. Hiroshi." Sakura said extending a hand.

"Please call me Asani." The woman smiled and shook the offered hand. "Why don't you run up to room and get ready for bed." She directed to her son.

"Ok, bye Sakura." He said with a wave.

"Goodnight Hikaru." She said before he disappeared inside.

"I don't mean to be forward or anything. . . But you look a little young to be a mother of a six year old." Asani asked as she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"That's because I'm not her real mother. We're in the process of adapting her." She answered with an understanding smile. "It's a very long and confusing story." She added with a chuckle.

"I understand. My curiosity just got the better of me." She smiled politely.

"So, may ask you a question?" Sakura asked, not really sure how to broach the subject.

"Sure, why don't you come on inside and have a seat." She motion for her to come in.

Once they were inside and seated, Asani broke the silence. "So, what is it you wanted to ask?"

"Well, we were planing to have a camp out with Tsuki Saturday night and I was wondering if it would be ok if Hikaru could tag along." She explained and looked at the woman hopefully.

"Where will you be camping at?" She asked jumping into protective Mother mode.

"In the woods behind our house. Don't worry we'll be within Konaha and if something happens just tell the Hokage that your son is with me and she'll contact us immediately." Sakura added hopping that the Hokage part will calm the worried mother.

Asani visibly looked more trusting now. "Ok sure, I don't see why not. Where do you live?"

"The Uchiha Compound." Sakura stated.

"Uchiha?" Asani raise a curious brow.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Yeah, long and complicated story." She repeated herself from earlier.

"Well, one of these days I'd like to hear that story." She gave the girl a playful smile.

"I'll be sure to tell you the whole thing." She said, smiling back.

"We'll, I better get going. Maybe we could all have dinner together sometime? Um, does your husband work nights?" Sakura asked getting up out of her chair. She looked around curiously wondering why she hadn't seen Hikaru's Father.

"No, Hikaru's father died in the last Ninja War. it's just the two of us now." She said as she also rose from her seat.

"I'm so sorry." Sakura appologised. she felt horrible for assuming.

"That's ok. You didnt know, and dinner together would be lovely." Asani replied with a smile, walking the girl to the door.

"Well, I'll see you Saterday. Oh, and if you could, don't mention the camp out to Hikaru. It's suppose to be a surprise." She added with a smile. Asani smiled back and assured her that she would keep her lips sealed.

* * *

><p>The next few days flew by. Sakura and Sasuke alternated between training and working on the training field. The shed was now almost completely finished. They also set up everything for the camp out they planed to have.<p>

It was now Saturday morning and they had just picked up Hikaru. Sakura had asked Tsuki if she wanted to spend the day with him and she jumped at the chance. So, now they were on their way back to the compound.

"Can we have some ice cream?" Tsuki turned around and asked when she saw an ice cream stand up ahead.

"Please?" The two kids chorused together.

Sakura smiled over at Sasuke, who just shrugged. The three took that as a 'yes' and the kids ran ahead to pick out a flavor.

Two choclete cones later they made it back to the house. The kids played while Sakura and Sasuke either watched them or chatted.

The two started out playing spy, where they would try to follow Ryu around without the kitten knowing. Unfortunately, cats are better ninja's than humans are so they ended up just playing a game of peak-a-boo with him instead.

For lunch they went to Ichiraku's and found out that Ryu wasn't the only one who loved shrimp. Hikaru's favorite Ramon was the shrimp so the kids had a playful argument over which was better: shrimp or chicken flavored Ramon.

When they got back, Sakura told the two, now confused, kids to wait outside while she and Sasuke fetched two backpacks. Tsuki was the first to ask "What are we doing?"

"How would you like go camping?" She asked and the two curious faces brightened.

"Yeah!" They shouted together and then both their faces dropped at the same time.

"Where at?" "I have to ask my Mom." They both started at the same time then looked at each other and laughed.

"I already cleared it with your mom. So, follow us and we'll lead the way." Sakura said smiling at the two.

They led them out into the big clearing in the middle of the woods. In the center was a fireplace created with a circle of stones and two logs laying outside of it, creating a V shape. There was also a pile of wood stacked up beside one of logs.

"You guys go play while we set up and I'll call you over when it gets dark." Sakura said as she sat down on one of the logs. "Just don't go to far and stay where we can see you!" She added, having to yell the last part because they had already took off running towards the edge of the woods.

They played tag for a while and then decided to start climbing trees. Sakura was afraid they would fall and hurt themselves so they brought out some thick training mats from the compound and circled them around the trunk. The kids then eventually made a game out of falling out of the tree and onto the mats below.

After a few hours it finally started to get dark. Sasuke got the fire lit and Sakura called the kids over. After a small lecture from Sakura on not getting to close to the fire, Sasuke put the hot dogs on the sticks and passed them around.

Tsuki even convenced the two of telling stories about some of their past (kid friendly) missions as they roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Eventually the kids started to yawn and Sakura sent them them to bed and, much to Sasuke's disapproval, they shared a sleeping bag far enough away from the dimly lit fire.

Sakura pulled out her sleeping bag and placed it a few feet away from the heads of the sleeping kids. That way, when she looks to her right she could see their heads poking out from under the cover.

Sakura smiled to herself when Sasuke got his out and laid down on her left side. She folded her arms behind her head and looked up at stars. It was a beautiful, warm, night. Her mind wondered to some of the stories they were telling the kids and some that they didn't.

She looked over to the boy beside her. He was laying on his back with his hands folded across his abdomen. From the light of the fire she could see that his eyes were closed.

"Sasuke?" She whispered to get his attention. They hadn't been laying there that long and from his breathing, she could tell that he was still awake.

"Hn?" He didn't move, but let her know that he was listening.

"Remember the day you left the village? I tried to stop you but. . . well. . ." She trailed off. This was something that she hadn't thought about in a long time, but now that she was thinking about and brought it up, she didn't know how the ask.

She took a deep breathe and decided to just spit it out. "Why did you thank me?"

It was quite and for a minute, she didn't think he was going to answer her. She was afraid he was angry at her, so she took a chance and looked over at him. His eyes were now open and he was staring at the stars with a guilty expression.

"I was wrong." He said and turned his head to look at her. He didn't want to tell her. He never wanted to tell her, but now that she'd asked, he couldn't just tell her a lie. She deserved an explaination.

She looked confused, and he knew he couldn't avoid it, so he sighed and continued. "I thought that night you showed me how weak a bond could make you. That having ties to people would hold you back." He started and then turned over on his side and leaned up on his elbow so he could see her face.

He didn't miss the flash of hurt that crossed her features before she looked into his eyes with curiosity. "Sakura, I was wrong and I'm sorry. I should have been thanking you for coming after me. . . My biggest regret is that I left you there on that bench."

She could see how sincere and apologetic he looked and she gave him a smile. "You don't have to apologize. . . I _was_ weak. I tryed to make you stay with false promises and even threatened to scream if you didn't." She laughed bitterly to herself at that part. "I was too caught up in trying to get you to like me that I lost sight of becoming a ninja. . . All those years I blamed myself for not being able to stop you and I vowed to became a stronger ninja so I could help Naruto get you back."

"We are where we're at now because of what happened back then. So don't ever appologize or dwell on it because things like that are inevitable. I'm glad you're in my life right now and that we have the friendship that the have." She finished, looking him in the eye with a smile.

"Me too." Was all he could think to say. He was too relieved that she wasn't hurt and upset by what he had said to think of anything else.

"Goodnight, Sasuke." She said after a minute of comfortable silence and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. She turned over on her side, facing him and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Sakura." He replied, also laying on his side to face her. He reached out to grab her hand. She smiled and without opening her eyes, she squeezed his hand softly in reply.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry if it seems a bit rushed. I really wanted to get this up so I kinda rushed to get it finished. Again, sorry about the lateness -_- I understand if you want to stop reading and wait for it get finished before reading again. Hell, if I didn't have to write it, that's what I'd do lol.<strong>

**Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed, favorited, and/or alerted. I'll post the list next chapter I don't have time to go through it right now and I know you guy have been waiting to long for me to post this anyway. I love you guys and hopefully it won't be to much longer before this story is finished.**

**~PsychoNinjaWolf**


	15. Chapter 15

** PLEASE READ!**

_Okay, major skipping around here guys. I love this story but I'm running out of ideas and I need to wrap this up. Hopefully it doesn't seem too rushed and confusing. _

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters associated with it. I own Tsuki, Kage, Kurochi, Hikaru and Asani Hiroshi. This goes for all future and past chapters that I will and have forgotten to put a disclaimer in. lol**_

_*This chapter is dedicated to '. **LYNYRDSKYNYRD1944**' :) He PM'd me and BAM I got it done in two nights lol._

**_Finally, some major SasuSaku! Don't worry its nothing to chang the rating over lol, just a few light make-out sesions, which, I'm no good at writing anyway. _**

**_Well, without further ado, I hope you enjoy_. **

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Chaper 15<span>_**

Tomorrow was the day. The day the council decided weither or not they got to keep Tsuki.

Sakura had been anticipating and dreading this moment for almost a month now. She couldn't believe how fast these few weeks had flown by. It seemed like just yesterday they were bringing the little girl into the village but at the same time it felt like that was a lifetime ago.

She layed in bed and stared up at the ceiling as she thought over everything that has happened in the past two weeks.

After their little camp out, Sakura had planed a dinner day with Hikaru's mother, and like everyone else, she absolutely fell in love with Tsuki. They ha explained most of the situation to her and her heart went out to the little girl.

She was also amazed by how much Sakura and Sasuke were willing to go through for her. Giving up your career and moving into a house with a friend, just so the kid could have parental figures, seemed like a big sacrifice.

It was a sacrifice they were more than willing to make. Thinking back on everything now, Sakura would do it all over again. Bringing this amazing little girl into their lives as brought her and Sasuke closer together and she wouldn't trade that for the world.

She thought back to that one event that sparked a new journey in a relationship for the two of them.

(**_FLASHBACK_**)

"I'm so sorry." Sakura apologized for the hundredth time as she healed Sasuke's dislocated shoulder.

"Stop apologizing." Sasuke said with a hint irritation. She had been saying she was sorry nonstop since it had happened.

"Sorry" She said apologetically and then chuckled when she realized that she was apologizing for apologizing and he just sent her an annoyed glare.

They were in their traing field, they had been sparing for a few hours when Sakura clipped Sasuke in the shoulder with a chakra infused punch, effectively dislocating it. It was an accedent, of course, Sasuke had every intention of dodging it and Sakura had expected him to as well, so they both were caught off gaurd when her fist connected. After the initial shock, they reset it and now Sakura was healing the damaged joint.

They fell silent after her last apology and Sasuke watched her has she worked. He was sitting on the forest floor, leaning up against a tree and she was sitting to the side, facing him. He relaxed a little when he felt the pain slowly being eased away by her touch.

His mind was on th verge of drifting when he realized that she was finished. She was looking up at him now and they were staring into each others eyes. Her eyes were so bright that he couldn't help but get lost in them and before he knew it, he was getting closer to them. He leaned in and captured her lips with his.

Once Sakura's mind caught up with her lips, she pulled away and stood up. "You might want to rest that shoulder for a while." She stated as she brushed herself off. She grabbed her water and leaded up against the tree across from him.

Sasuke sighed in frustration and stood up to walk over to her. "Sakura," he started an took a deep breath to calm down. "Why do you keep avoiding this?" He asked softly as he stopped in front of her.

Every time something like this has happened between them she would just brush it off like it was nothing. She completely ignored and acted as if it hadn't happened and he was getting tired of it.

She sighed and put her water down after taking a drink. "I don't know what your talking about." She said as she crossed her arms and looked away.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about." He said as he placed a hand on the tree beside her head when she looked like she would take off in the direction she was staring at.

She looked up to meet his eyes and she knew that she wasn't going to be able to run from it this time. He had her cornered. She sighed and looked away again. She didn't exactly know what to tell him.

He placed his other hand under her chin to make her look back up at him. He searched her eyes to get some kind of read on what she was thinking... and that's when he saw it, fear.

His eyes softened as he let go of her face. "Your scared." He stated under his breath but she herd him.

"Sasuke, I'm terrified. I don't want this," she gestured between them, "to ruin our friendship."

"Sakura, this isn't going to ruin our friendship." He stated with a confidence she didn't think she could have.

"But, what if it doesn't work? What about Tsuki? I mean," she looked around, frantic for words, "if we brake up it's gonna brake her heart not just mine." She said and looked back up at him, on the verge of panicking.

"Sakura, listen to me." He said as he cupped her face and brought his closer to hers Making her breath hitch in her throat. "That isn't going to happen."

"Are you sure?" She asked pleadingly her eyes shining with unshead tears. She wanted so bad for this to work, to be with him and have everything to be okay.

"Yes" He whistpered and kissed her softly.

When he pulled back, she smile up at him, and he smirked down at her. "And, if you want, we'll make a pact."

She raised her brow, prompting him to continue.

"If this doesn't work out, even though I'm positive that it will," He shot her confident smile that made her grin. "then we'll agree to still be friends and keep living together for Tsuki's sake." He finished and she thought about it for minute before nodding in agreement.

"Promise?" He asked as he pulled away and held out a hand.

"Promise." She agreed as took it.

"Good" he purred as he pulled her into him, causing her to squeak in surprise before returning the kiss.

(**END FLASHBACK**)

Sakura smiled at the memory. That was a turning point in her and Sasuke's relationship. They had been together for two and a half weeks now, and it all seemed so surreal.

She thought about how much he had changed over time. Five years ago he was cold and distant, now, he was warm and friendly. If she started a realationship with him back then, she could almost _guarantee_ it wouldn't have lasted long. He was too emotionally detached.

He was the exact opposite now, though. He held her hand, smiled, laughed, and kissed her whenever he could. He was also a perfect gentleman, never pushing her to do something she wasn't comfortable with. It was wonderful, she never imagined he could be so affectionate. He could even be romantic when he wanted to be.

She remember when they decided to have their first date. He told her to drop Tsuki off at school and he would meet her back at the house. She was only at the house for five minutes when there was a knock at the door.

(**FLASHBACK**)

Sakura opened the door to find Sasuke with a bouquet of red roses.

"For you." Sasuke said as he handed her the flowers.

"Thanks." She smiled and then frowned down at the flowers, knowing where they came from. She remembered the deal she had with the shop owners daughter and the fact that she hadn't told Ino about this yet.

Sensing where her train of thought was going to, he quickly add, "Don't worry, I told Ino you'd explain everything over lunch tomorrow."

She sighed in relief. "I think you just saved my life." She joked as he smirked at her.

"Let me put these up and I'll be right back." She said and disappeared into the kitchen.

Once she found a vase, placed them in water, and breathed in the havenly aroma of fresh flowers, she met him back at the door and he lead her into the surrounding forest.

"So, where are we going?" She asked looking around the small path they were on. She had no idea what he had planed.

"You'll see." He shot her a smirk and she rolled her eyes at him with a playful smile.

A few minutes latter she started to hear rushing water as they came closer to a near by creek. He lead her to the top of a small waterfall, where the creek emptied out into a small watering hole below.

It was a good sized body of water, it wasn't too large but looked deep and the waterfall they were standing on the edge of, was about fifteen feet above it. It was a beautiful view. She could see the surrounding forest, the tops of houses in the distance, and the rising sun that made the whole scenery glow softly.

"This is amazing." She said as she looked over at Sasuke.

"This isn't even the best part." He smirk as he walked a good distance away from the ledge.

She looked at him in puzzlement before following.

He started taking off his ninja equipment and she frowned in confusion. He looked up at her as he removed his kuni holster that was strapped to his leg. "Don't worry, we won't need it." He said and gestured for her to do the same.

She glanced at him curiously but complied anyway.

He put all of their stuff in a small bag and she had no idea what he was planing until he took off his shirt. She blushed slightly then noted what she was wearing, shorts and a tank top, perfect for swimming... but the watering hole was down there... Her train of thought was inturupted when she watched him quickly stuff his shirt in the bag and zipped it up before he tossed it over the ledge. It landed several feet away from the bank.

Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what was about to happen. He grabed her hand and took off towards the ledge. "Jump!" He yelled right before they approached and she had no choice but to do as he said because of the hand dragging her.

She let out a soft yelp as they fell and hit the water.

When they came up for air she shot him a playful glare as he smirked at her. "A little more warning next time would be nice." She said as she splashed him with water. He chuckled as he sent a small wave back.

The water was surprisingly warm for the early hour, so they played around for a little while. They laughed as they swam around, splashed each other, and even had a little competitive race around the watering hole. Sasuke won but only because a fish swam by Sakura's leg and it startled her...at lest that was her excuse.

They eventually found themselves behind the waterfall in a small open space between the cliff side and the falling water. The water wasn't as deep here as they thought, so they were standing on the bottom and the water came up to about their chests.

Sakura took a deep breath as she looked around the small cavern. The light shining through the water gave a shimmering effect around them. She looked over at Sauke to see him staring at her.

She turned to get a better look at him and blushed when he encircled his arms around her waist to bring her closer. She placed her hands on his bare chest and looked up into his eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds before closing the distance between their lips.

Sasuke flicked his tongue arose her bottom lip and she parted them, allowing him entrance. Sakura gave a soft moan as she snaked her hands up and around his neck, deepening the kiss. The combination of his tongue and the fresh water on his lips was intoxicating and for a few blissful seconds, she forgot about the world around her...until her stomach growled, effectively bringing her back down to earth.

She giggled into the kiss and Sasuke drew back with a chuckle. "Hungry?"

"Yeah, I guess I really worked up an appetite." She said sheepishly.

"Let's go eat then." He smiled and lead her out of the water and to a picnic area he had set up on the bank that she hadn't even noticed until then.

"Here," he handed her a bag, "a change of cloths and a towl." He added when she looked at him in confusion.

She nodded in understanding and they both disappeared in different directions into the forest.

When they came back, dry and dressed, they sat down on a blanket and ate lunch.

(**END FLASHBACK**)

Sakura was pleasantly surprised and didn't want it to end. It was the perfect first date. She even enjoyed telling the story to Ino the next day over lunch. She had explained everything that happened and the pact they had made incase it didn't work out between them, Ino kept telling her that she had nothing to worry about and she was slowly starting to believe that to be true.

Tsuki was just as excited as Ino about the relationship, even though at first they tried to keep it hidden from her, just incase it didn't work out, they didn't what to get her hopes up. But, that quickly went out the window when she caught them making out in the kitchen before breakfast.

(**FLASHBACK**)

It was a school morning and Sakura was preparing breakfast for the three of them. Tsuki was still in bed and she had heard Sasuke get out of the shower a few minutes ago. She was standing over the stove, flipping the eggs in the skillet, when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. Knowing who it was, she smiled and leaned into his embrace. "Good morning."

"Good morning," he replied and kissed her cheek.

She put the spatula down and turned around to face him. He keep his arms around her and she brought hers up to drap them around his shoulders. She leaned up and kissed him softly, then planed to turn her attention back to the eggs, but before she could turn, he tightened his grip and pulled her in for a deeper kiss.

They weren't paying much attention to anything else so they didn't hear the footsteps coming down the stairs, however, they _did_ hear the gasp from the doorway. They broke apart and turned their heads in the direction of the sound. Tsuki, who was shocked at first, now had a big grin on her face.

They stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights, but she didn't say anything as she walked to the table and sat down, the grin never leaving her face.

Sakura cleared her throat and looked to Sasuke, who looked back at her with an uncertain shrug. She sighed before she returned her attention back to the girl.

"Tsuki, it's not what it looks like. This doesn't mean we're married." She tried to explain, knowing how bent the kid was on getting the two of them together. The girl thought you could get married and have a family at the snap of your fingers.

Tsuki's smile faltered a bit but after a minute she smiled again. "I know, you said it takes time, but are you doing the 'dating' thingy you talked about?" She asked hopefully as she remembered their conversation from a little while ago.

Sakura smiled at her. She was really proud of her for not pushing and trying to simplify the whole marriage thing like she had been. "Yes" She stated making Tsuki grin wider. It was only a matter of time before she got her new family.

Her grin then disappeared as she sniffed the air suspiciously. "Smells like something's burning." She stated, making Sakura turn to the stove quickly to see three chard eggs in the skillet.

"Shit" She muttered under her breath as she took the burnt food off the stove. She then shot a glare to Sasuke, who was chuckling softly at her. It was mostly his fault, if he hadn't distracted her with those damn, delicious, lips of his, this wouldn't have happened. So, she made him finish breakfast while she scrapped and scrubbed the burn food from the pan.

(**END FLASHBACK**)

Tsuki was as understanding as a 6 year old could be and Sakura was grateful for it. It made everything a lot easier. She had even started calling them Mom and Dad. Sakura had to smile at that memory as well.

(**FLASHBACK**)

Sakura was tucking Tsuki in for the night. Naruto had visited earlier that day and dragged Sasuke off to do some 'male bonding' which in Naruto language ment 'drill Sasuke on the detail's about their more "personal" relationship'.

"Sakura?" Tsuki addressed as she sat up in bed. Sakura was sitting in the chair beside the bed ready to tell her a story but Tsuki had something else on her mind.

"Yeah"

"I know you and Sasuke aren't married yet but... well..." She struggled to find the right words to say. "can you still be my new parents?" She asked with big innocent eyes.

Sakura gave the girl a sad smile. She knew they were eventually going to have to have this talk, she just thought Sasuke would be here for it. The lucky bastard unknowingly wormed his way out of it.

"Tsuki... you know we could never replace your real parents, right?" She asked and the girl nodded.

"I know, my mommy and daddy were special. Mommy said that she'd always be in my heart... but..." She paused to take a calming breath. "She's not here and you are." She finished, her voice cracking in the end as she looked up to meet Sakura's eyes.

Sakura's heart broke as she stared into the sad, pleading, eyes of this little girl who now ment the world to her. She drew Tsuki into a hug as she tried to hold back unshead tears.

"No matter what, Sasuke and I will _always_ be here for you." She said and then drew back to look the girl in the eyes. "You'll always be our daughter." She smiled at her.

Tsuki broke out into a grin. "So can I call you Mom and Dad?" She asked hopefully.

"You can call us whatever you want, Sweetheart." She answered with a smile.

"Thank you." She said latching onto Sakura again with a hug.

"Alright, time for bed." She said and kissed Tsuki on the forehead.

Tsuki settled down and pulled the covers over her, getting comfortable as Sakura walked towards the door. She turned the light off and was getting ready to shut the door when she herd Tsuki.

"Mom?"

Her heart warmed at the title. She never thought such a joy could come from being simply called Mom.

"Yeah"

"I love you."

Sakura smiled and felt that same warmth wash over her heart again. "I love you, too... Good night, Sweetheart," She said softly.

"Good night, Mom," She replied.

(**END FLASHBACK**)

This memory strengthened her resolve to keep the girl. There was no way in hell they were taking Tsuki away from them. It wasn't going to happen, even if she had to convince the elders herself.

She sighed and glanced at the clock, she wasn't going to be able to sleep at this rate. So, she got up and headed to Sasuke's room. Knowing that she'd able to sleep with him by her side.

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><p><strong>Alright, guys! The next chapter will be the <em>last<em>! I already have it half way finished. I'll post it with in the week, I promise.**

**If you have any questions or complaints let me know, please. **

_Also, I'll post the reviewer dedication in the last chapter. So, if you want your name mentioned, review this chapter **before** I post the next! Lol _


	16. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters associated with it. I own Tsuki, Kage, Kurochi, Hikaru and Asani Hiroshi. This goes for all future and past chapters that I will and have forgotten to put a disclaimer in. lol**_

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><p><strong><em><span>Chapter 16<span>_**

Sakura woke up to the delicious smell of bacon. She opened her eyes to see if Sasuke was next to her and when she noticed that he wasn't, she confirmed that the wonderful aroma was not just her imagination.

She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she remembered the conversation she had with Sasuke before they feel asleep. They had decided that nothing was going to separate them from Tsuki.

They would go to the council meeting and plead their case. With Tsunade backing them up it should be a little easier to convince the old farts to let them keep her, but just in case they had a back up plain...run like hell.

Sasuke knew how to live as a missing-nin and with that knowledge, they would leave the village. Sakura frowned at that thought. She loved her home and she loved her friends, but she was willing to do anything for that girl. She just didn't want it to come to that.

Shaking those thoughts from her mind, she got up and made her way silently to the kitchen. She stopped in the door way at the sight that greeted her. Sasuke was at the stove and Tsuki was standing up on a chair next to him. He had his arm around her side to keep her from falling and used the other hand to teach her how to flip the bacon.

"Be extra careful and keep your fingers at the end of the spatula so you don't burn your self with the popping grease." He said and she nodded as she took the spatula and effectively flipped a piece of bacon.

She looked over at him with a grin and he smiled back. "Good job."

"Now, remember, don't try to cook this unless there's an adult with you." He said and she nodded again. "Do you remember why?" He asked, making sure she got the point.

"Because it's dangerous. I could burn myself or start a fire." She recited and it was his turn to nod in agreement before turning his attention back to the bacon.

Ryu meowed at Sakura, giving her presence away to the two chefs. Sakura sent a playful glare down at the cat. He was no longer a kitten but wasn't quite a full grow cat either. He looked up a her with hungry eyes and mewed pleadingly.

Sasuke smirked at her from his position at the stove and Tsuki climbed down to give her a hug. Sakura bent down to return the hug and pat Ryu on the head at the same time.

"Good morning, Mommy," She said as she pulled away. "I got up early so me and Daddy are making breakfast and I flipped the bacon all by myself." She said proudly.

"That's wonderful Sweetheart. You'll be a master chef in no time." She smiled at her, making her giggle.

Sakura walked over and gave Sasuke a kiss on the cheek before making her way over to feed Ryu, who was now following her around, demanding to be fed.

The rest of the morning went by quickly, as they finished breakfast and walked Tsuki to school. They now found themselves standing outside Tsunade's office.

"Come in." She replied to the knock at the door and smile when she realized who it was.

"Shizune, guard the door." She said to the dark haired girl in her office.

Shizune obliged and grinned at the two before making her way to the door.

"Ok, I have good news and I have bad news." She said as she propped her elbows on the desk and interlocked her fingers in front of her.

"Good news: I convinced the elders on letting you keep the girl." The couple smiled at each other at that.

"Bad news: They don't exactly know what they've agreed to." She added and the two frowned in confusion.

"You know it's really cute how you mirror each other's expressions like that." She teased and earned a glare from the two.

She chuckled before going back to the explanation. "Anyway, I might have had a _little_ too much sake before I gave them my report. So, in turn, it was very" She paused, searching for the right word. "brief."

Sakura, who frowned at the first part, pieced together what she was getting at and smiled. "So, they don't know anything about Tsuki."

"Right, the only thing they know is that she was the sole survivor of a destroyed village. I didn't even mention the wolves because I was afraid they'd think that I was going just as senile as they are." She rolled her eyes at that ridiculous thought.

Sakura frowned again. "But, isn't that good news?" She asked.

Sasuke was the first to speak up, "It's more of a double edged sword."

Tsunade nodded in agreement but Sakura look more confused so he explained. "It's good now. They're letting us keep Tsuki without knowing the full extent of their agreement. Tsuki is the last of an ancient blood line. If they knew that, they would do anything to make sure that she was raised the way _they_ wanted her to be."

"So all we have to do is keep that part of her past under wraps until she's of age. Then they have no choice but to let her make her own decision." Sakura concluded once she caught on to the explanation.

"Right" Tsunade agreed as she stood up to stretch. She walked around her desk and leaned back on the front of it.

"But what about the attack? Didn't that raise some red flags for them?" Sakura asked.

"The only people who know about the attack are the people present during the debriefing I've asked for them to keep it quiet." She said with a smirk.

"So, you had this plained from the start?" Sakura asked felling a little upset that she spent so much time worrying about it for nothing.

"No, once I realized my mistake, I was plaining to explain everything to them today." She said honestly.

Sakura and Sasuke both, raise a brow at that, but it was Sakura who asked, "What changed your mind?"

"You did." She said, pointing to Sakura. "Remember our conversation after the attack?"

"Yeah," Sakura thought back for a moment.

(small flashbck)

_"You look like a worried mother." Tsunade commented with a smile._

_"I _feel_ like a worried mother." Sakura replied with a sigh. _

_"I've never been more afraid in my life, then when I seen that bastard holding Tsuki." _

_"I know how you feel. I might not have kids of my own but I get that same fear when something happens to you or Shizune." Tsunade said smiling softly at the girl beside her, who smiled knowingly back._

_"Have you and Sasuke decided what your going to do after this is all over?" Tsunade asked._

_"Well if the verdict is no, then were going to kidnap her and run away to live somewhere far away from the village." Sakura said with a teasing smile._

_Tsunade raised a brow at her. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that and hope your were kidding."_

(end small flashback)

Sakura smiled at the memory, she _was_ just joking at the time.

"You had that kid for one week and you had already felt like she was your own. I decided then that I would do everything I could to help you keep her." She smile at her apprentice, who smiled back before latching onto her in a tight hug.

"Thank you" She said as Tsunade huged her back.

"Don't thank me, thank the sake." She replied with a smirk.

Sakura released her from the hug and gave her an incredulous look. Tsunade just laughed and even Sasuke couldn't hold in a chuckle.

Sakura just crossed her arms and shook her head.

"So, is that it?" Sakura asked after a minute. She couldn't shake off the felling of how... easy this all seemed.

"Yep, I've already taken care of all the paper work." Tsunade answered.

Sakura sighed in relief, it was finally over. Now the only things she had to worry about was her growing relationship with Sasuke and raising the girl. Piece of cake, right?

"But their is the matter of her surname. For obvious reasons she can't go by hers until she comes of age. So, do you want to change it to one of yours or keep it Kurokage?" She asked the two, who were now looking at each other in contemplation.

"I don't know. We never thought about it before." Sakura said after a minute of thinking.

"Well, you could wait until the two of you get married. Then you can change your names at the sametime." Tsunade suggested with a smirk.

Sakura blushed and glared at her former mentor.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"We'll keep her name the same for now. She can decide what she wants when she gets older." Sasuke stated calmly, seemingly unaffected by the comment. He knew Sakura wasn't ready to talk about any of that just yet and he didn't want to push her. He was in this for the long haul. He wanted to marry her and give Tsuki a little brother or sister, but he was a patient man. So, he'd wait for her.

"That seems reasonable." Tsunade said as she made her way back to her chair behind the desk.

Sakura shot him a greatful look and he smirked at her.

"Alright, everything's done. Now, get your asses out of here and go plain a party." She said with a dismissive wave.

"Ok, but you're invited, today after school." Sakura said as she and Sasuke made their way out the door.

"As long as there's sake."

"For you, just this once." Sakura stated, holding up a finger to make her point and Tsunade smirked at her.

The rest of the day they spent getting everything ready. They bought a cake and invited Tsuki's unofficial Aunts and Uncles along with Asani who would bring Hikari. They set it all up at the training area they had fix up.

They had just finished it a few days ago. Sakura was afraid they wouldn't get it done in time. It was going pretty quickly at first but once they officially got together, they would find themselves playing around and not actually getting anything done. So, Sakura put her foot down and after one play sword fight, two ruined practice dummies, and a make out session later, they finally got it done.

Sakura had also decided to wait untill everything was settled to do the garden. She didn't want to bring it to life if there was a slight possibility that she would have to leave it.

"Alright guy's, we'll be right back. Naruto," Sakura addressed the blonde who was now looking up at her with bright blue anticipating eyes. "Don't blow up anything while we're gone." She added making his face fall. He pouted and crossed his arms.

Everything was perfect so far. Everyone they invited was there, Asani even pick Hikaru up from school early so he would be here to surprise Tsuki. The cake was set out on a table they had in the middle of the training field and they had tied balloons to all the training dummies. It was a regular 'Welcome to our dysfunctional pieced together family' party.

Now all they had to do was go pick up the newest member.

"A surprise?" The girl asked as she walked home with her new parents. They had explained as much as they could to her. The fact that this was officially perminate even though it was really never temporary to them.

"Yep, to celebrate our little family being official." Sakura confirmed.

"But you two still aren't married?" She asked, just to make sure.

"No" Sakura stated with a sigh.

"So, what's the surprise?"

"If we told you, it wouldn't be a surprise." Sasuke said with a half smile.

"Surprise!" They heard everyone shout as they lead Tsuki to the training area.

"Wow, a party _and_ a place to practice to be the best ninja in the world!" Tsuki said as she looked up at her smiling parents.

"You're the best." She latched onto their legs with a hug. "Thanks Mom, Dad," she added with a grin.

"Awww" the collective crowed awed.

"Go enjoy your party, Sweetie." Sakura smiled at the girl and she took off towards the cake.

That's just what she did: she ate cake, played with Hikaru, watched her mother scold Naruto for blowing up one of the practice dummies, talked with Neji and Tenten, laughed at Shikamaru when Ino planted her cake in his face, rode the giant Akamaru with Kiba, listen to Lee explain to her how youthful she was, she even had a bet with Choji that she could eat her cake faster, she lost of course, when he ate the whole thing in one bit.

She couldn't remember having so much fun in one day with so many different people, and she loved it. This was her home now, her family. She looked over to see her parents. She was so happy to finally be able to call them that.

They were sitting next to each other on the edge of the long open hall that lead to the training area. They were holding hands and talking to each other with smiles on their faces. She smiled to herself. This was just the beginning for them, but no matter what outcome they had, they were always going to be a family.

~The End~

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><p><em><strong>FINALLY! I'm finished!<strong>_

_**I'm not good at endings so I'm sorry if its crappy. I just really need to get this story finished so I could move on. **_

_I plan to go back and revise the whole story (just spelling and grammar mistakes, nothing major, if so I'll let you know). My writing style has changed and I want to go back and make sure it's the same throughout the fic._

_Anyway, I'm thinking of a sequel but don't hold your breath because it'll be awhile. The only thing I have in mind at the moment is the major plot which will go into detail about the guy who hired Toki and Kio in this story and Tsuki's training with Kurochi and Kage. _

_**Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed. I love reading what you guys think about the story and if you can, tell me what your favorite part was. **_

**A special thanks to:**

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